Two-thirds of women serving full-time in the UK armed forces reported experiencing sexualized behavior in the past year, according to a survey.
This included comments about her appearance, harassment, leering, and groping.
Women were twice as likely to experience these behaviors as men, according to the survey.
The Ministry of Defence, which commissioned the report, called the findings “totally unacceptable” and said it had launched a prevention program to tackle unacceptable behaviour.
The survey was part of an effort to understand the deeply troubling experiences of many women in the military, who make up about 12% of the force.
In 2021, 19-year-old gunner Jaysley Beck took her own life after being sexually harassed and assaulted. Petty Officer Michael Webber, 43, had pinned Beck down and tried to kiss her. He was jailed for sexual assault last month.
The survey of more than 90,000 military personnel (including full-time regular personnel and part-time reservists) highlights a broad spectrum of harassment, from verbal to physical.
Sixty-seven percent of full-time female staff had encountered some type of sexualized behavior in the past year, such as inappropriate jokes, pornography or comments about their appearance. Among regular men it was 34%.
Of these women, 93% said they believed the behavior amounted to sexual harassment.
About 42% of regular customers said they had been stared at or looked at askance. A third said they had been touched in a way that made them feel uncomfortable.
Sexualized behavior was most common in an open workplace in the military home or training unit.
The Ministry of Defense said it was tackling what it called inappropriate behavior by educating recruits about consent, misogyny and harmful online influences.
Minister for Veterans and People Louise Sandher-Jones said the survey results were “totally unacceptable” and described it as a “no-holds-barred baseline to fully confront and address the root causes of this problem”.
“New standards of transparency and accountability are being established throughout our Armed Forces,” he added.
The survey comes a year after a separate Royal Navy investigation found that women in the Submarine Service had suffered misogyny, harassment and other unacceptable behaviour.
The behavior was observed “across all ranks” but was “not widespread” across the service, the report said, after a two-year long investigation.
