By Tony O'Riley-
Four male British soldiers have been charged with “disgraceful conduct of an indecent kind” over an alleged sexual assault of a female soldier this year.
Two other soldiers have been charged with failing to prevent or report the incident. The sexual allegations first came to light in April 2019 after the Secretary Of State Commissioned a report into inappropriate behaviours in the armed forces .
The report states that inappropriate behaviour persists which harms people, the teams they serve in and, ultimately, operational output.
The report also accepts the existence of an unacceptable level of inappropriate behaviour and a sub-optimal system for dealing
with it when it does occur.
The report concludes that 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 and at every level of leadership and line management below requiring authentic leadership.
At the time of the alleged assault the then defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, said he was “horrified” by the allegations. He ordered an urgent Ministry of Defence review into inappropriate behaviour in the UK’s armed forces with a view to “stamping it out.”
The review found a “significant number” of military personnel have experienced “bullying, discrimination and harassment, including sexual”. The chief of the general staff, General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, previously released a video message saying inappropriate behaviour was “downright unacceptable”.
He said: “We hold ourselves to a higher level of behaviour and any behaviour that falls shorts of that high standard – we cannot and we will not tolerate.”
Image:bbc.co.uk