The head of the Royal Navy has ordered an investigation into allegations of bullying and sexual harassment against women in the Submarine Service.
Several whistleblowers who served in the fleet told the Daily Mail they faced mistreatment from all ranks.
Adm Sir Ben Key, the First Sea Lord, called the claims “abhorrent”, adding “sexual harassment has no place in the Royal Navy and will not be tolerated”.
“Anyone who is found culpable will be held accountable,” he said.
The allegations, revealed in detail by the Mail, include male crew members compiling a list setting out the order in which women would be assaulted in the event of a catastrophic event.
One woman told the Mail she was sexually assaulted by a man of a higher rank as she slept. She claimed one senior officer punched her in the kidney.
She alleged that another left naked pictures of models for her and posted 50p coins into her cabin, suggesting she would perform a sexual act in return.
Other women alleged they were frequently asked to perform sex acts and were often screamed at and hit with clipboards and pens.
It is claimed the abuse has been happening for more than a decade, after a ban on female recruits was lifted in 2011.
Former Navy Rear Adm Chris Parry told the BBC’s Today programme he believed the issue was also a reflection of wider society.
“I’m afraid some of the sexualised behaviour that we see in the normal working place is transferred to submarines, as you would expect, and of course in a compressed environment everything becomes exaggerated,” he said.
He said the issue requires leadership, including “zero tolerance from the top down and the bottom up” when it comes to accusations of sexual harassment.
“It is about leadership. But it’s very difficult in submarines where you are living cheek by jowl with everybody and you don’t have a mature society putting people into those submarines.”
He said when he commanded ships with a mix of genders he took “very seriously” accusations of assault.
Emma Norton, from charity the Centre for Military Justice, said any investigation would still involve “the Royal Navy investigating the Royal Navy”.
“What a lot of campaigners and service women have been calling for many, many years, is for those responsible for investigating serious complaints like this to be taken away from the single services and handed to an independent body,” she said.
‘Unacceptable’
The Submarine Service is “unseen and unhindered,” according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) website, which says it has “built an enduring reputation for professionalism and courage”.
The service includes the Vanguard Class submarines that provide the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
Figures revealed in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request showed that, as of 2019, just 1% of Submarine Service personnel were female.
Responding to the allegations, Adm Sir Ben said: “I want to reassure our people, and anyone who is reading this, that any activity which falls short of the highest of standards the Royal Navy sets itself is totally unacceptable and not a true reflection of what service life should be.
“These allegations are abhorrent. Sexual assault and harassment has no place in the Royal Navy and will not be tolerated.”
The MoD said that while most navy staff enjoy rewarding careers, some personnel, predominantly women, have been affected by inappropriate sexualised behaviour.
It said it accepted more needs to be done to improve the experience of all personnel and mechanisms for reporting sexual offences were being improved.
One of the whistleblowers, who told the Mail she was sexually assaulted by a man of a higher rank as she slept, no longer serves in the navy. She was dismissed from service and given a suspended prison sentence for disclosing classified information that compromised security, over a separate incident.
In 2019, the Ministry of Defence published a detailed report on inappropriate behaviour that included dozens of recommendations on how to tackle the issue. This included improving the complaints system and processes, encouraging more complaints, and dealing with them better when they occur.
“Ultimately, however, the challenge of inappropriate behaviour can only be addressed through a determined effort across the whole force to change the culture, driven persistently from the top,” the report said.
Earlier this year, media reports emerged detailing allegations of bullying, drinking, misogyny and sexual harassment in the Red Arrows.
A series of incidents within the flagship aerial display team prompted the Chief of the Air Staff to order an inquiry, which has yet to report.
Last year, Diane Allen, a retired lieutenant colonel from the British Army, said the military needed its own Me Too moment, referring to the movement which saw people share their experiences of sexual harassment.
Speaking to the BBC’s Woman’s Hour in May last year about the issue in the Army and the Royal Air Force, she said she was concerned that “even the good people in the military are feeling coerced not to speak up when they see poor behaviour”.
