SENIOR women at the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) have raised concerns about a “hostile” and “toxic” work environment, alleging incidents of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse by male colleagues.
The Guardian reports that a letter, sent last month by sixty senior civil servants, detailed anonymous testimonies describing personal experiences of the women.
The accounts disclosed instances of women being “propositioned,” “groped,” and “touched repeatedly” by male colleagues at both the MoD’s London headquarters and overseas bases.
The letter, marked as “official-sensitive,” highlighted that the women face difficulties in their day-to-day professional lives due to behaviours considered toxic and inappropriate.
In the letter, the group of senior civilian women expressed frustration, saying: “We are spoken over during meetings, we are subject to pejorative language, we receive unwanted attention and face sexual harassment, including intrusive staring, sexualised comments, running commentary about what we wear, how we look, and how we smell.”
According to the testimonials in the letter, one of the biggest departments of the UK government has a widespread and recent issue with a discriminatory working culture.
The MoD said in a statement on Thursday: “We are deeply concerned by the complaints made and we are taking action to tackle the issues raised. No woman should be made to feel unsafe in Defence and this behaviour will not be tolerated. We also continue to encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed this kind of inexcusable behaviour, to report it immediately.”
These testimonies, which are said to be “the tip of the iceberg” and illustrative of a “current problem, not a historic one”, women described feeling “sick with fear”, “sobbing in the bathroom”, and being subjected to “intimidating” behaviour.
In addition, the letter condemned the MoD’s complaints system, claiming that it is inadequate and that efforts to voice opposition to such actions are frequently downplayed.
Apart from the accusations of sexual harassment, the letter revealed a “male-dominated” workplace where women experienced disdain, were outnumbered in meetings, and were passed over for advancement.
This, according to one woman, led to a “vicious cycle of men-only teams at the top of the MoD”.
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