An ex-RAF corporal says she was ‘hung out to dry’ after being assaulted in her sleep.
Sam, who hasn’t revealed her real name, claims to have suffered “vile misogyny, homophobia and sexual abuse” during her decade in the air force. She left the force after being sexually assaulted by a male colleague, who was then acquitted by a military court and permitted to continue serving.
The resulting employment tribunal concluded that there was “no factual dispute that the sexual assault took place”.
Sam was 19 when she joined the force as an aircraft technician, being one of very few women in the team. She enjoyed her job, and her working record was deemed to be outstanding. However, she states that sexism was rife and women were routinely referred to using offensive language.
Sam tried to endure the environment – “I understood why a lot of women didn’t stay in the forces, because it’s a tough crowd to be in”, she said. But this became much harder as she became victim of a sexual assault whilst sleeping, in an off-base hotel in Crete in 2018. Sam and her colleagues were breaking curfew at the time.
In 2019, the case went to military court and was acquitted, despite acknowledgement of the court that there were failings with the investigation, including a lack of on-site forensic testing where a nearby US military base was asked for assistance. “He just got away with it. It blows my mind.”
Sam then lodged a service complaint, which is a workplace grievance, which took a further three years to conclude.
The RAF deemed the behaviour experienced to be: “Predatory in nature (including) unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which violated (her) dignity and created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment – which amounted to a degree of sexual harassment that was extremely serious”.
She left the service in 2021 under medical discharge and won her case for sexual harassment at employment tribunal level, though the sexual discrimination claim was not upheld.
The RAF has appealed the decision, arguing that it happened off-base when service members had broken their curfew, stating: “historic cases like this have led to the introduction of a zero-tolerance policy to send a clear message that unacceptable sexual behaviour will not be tolerated”.
Sam’s lawyer, Emma Norton of the Centre for Military Justice, said of calls from women in the armed forces: “They all report a sexualised culture, disrespect for women, victim-blaming, and a system completely incapable of supporting victims.”
Sam believes that things never changed during her ten year, adding: “I feel sorry for any young girl joining, with men trying it on and sexually harassing them,” she says. “It happened all the time.”
Did you know?
Claims for psychiatric injury can be made within an employment tribunal claim for discrimination. If you would like to know more on how to proceed, please contact our team.
Further reading
Bullying and harassment at work – Oakwood Solicitors
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Jessica Rowson started as a Paralegal at Oakwood Solicitors in July 2010, qualifying as a Solicitor in September 2013. Following her qualifying as a Solicitor, Jessica established a niche department …
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