Sexual harassment in the military

Sexual harassment in the military is unwanted sexual behaviour experienced as threatening, offensive, or otherwise upsetting, which occurs in a military setting.[2][3][4][5]

Sexual harassment is more common in military than civilian life.[3][6] Military women and men experience unwanted behaviours disproportionately,[3][4][7][8][9][10] particularly younger women and girls.[4][11][12][13][14][15] Other groups at high risk include partners of personnel, child cadets, and military detainees.

Risk factors characteristic of a military setting include the young average age of personnel, isolated workplaces, the minority status of women, hierarchical power relationships, a culture of conformity, the predominance of traditionally masculine values and behaviours, and a heavy drinking culture.[4][10][16][17][18] Harassment is particularly common in certain settings, notably centres for initial military training[1][19][20][21][22] and theatres of war.[10][23][24]

Experience of harassment can be traumatic. It increases the risk of stress-related mental illness,[10] particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).[6] Nonetheless, typically most of those targeted choose not to raise a formal complaint, expecting repercussions if they do.[3][4][7][9][12][13][25][26]

Despite the development of prevention programmes in recent years, official statistics in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States report increasing rates of sexual harassment in the military.[4][10][7][8][9][15]

  1. ^ a b Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2017). "Report of case study no. 40: The response of the Australian Defence Force to allegations of child sexual abuse" (PDF). Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Anderson, E H; Suris, A (2013). "Military sexual trauma". In Moore, Brett A; Barnett, Jeffrey E (eds.). Military psychologists' desk reference. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 264–269. ISBN 978-0-19-992826-2. OCLC 828143812.
  7. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b US, Department of Defense (2017). "Department of Defense Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military: Fiscal Year 2016" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  9. ^ a b c House of Commons Defence Committee (12 July 2021). "Protecting those who protect us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life (the Atherton Review)". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ American Public Health Association (30 October 2013). "Cessation of Military Recruiting in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools". www.apha.org. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cooper, Charlotte (July 2022). "British army: Welfare concerns at the Army Foundation College, Harrogate" (PDF). Child Rights International Network. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  15. ^ a b Whyte, Lara. "Tenfold rise in rapes and sexual assaults on girls in military". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference :23 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference :24 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference :32 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Ministry of Defence (14 April 2022). "Armed Forces: Offences against Children". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Air Force relieves commander over sex scandal". The Seattle Times. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference :34 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference :30 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Violence. (2004). "Sexual Harassment Survey of Reserve Component Members" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference :02 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference :25 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.