Prince William wants more protection from harassment for service women

The Prince of Wales says more must be done to ensure that women in the armed forces are shown respect and protected from sexual harassment.

Prince William has called for a military culture that is more inclusive and respectful of women - and has warned that at present those values are not always being met.

The prince, who will one day be head of the armed forces, held private meetings with service women for an article he has produced as guest editor of Country Life magazine.

He was told about service women too often facing inappropriate comments, the threat of false rumours and sexual harassment.

"I want to play my part in making the military feel like the welcoming, open and professional place I enjoyed and make it feel like that for everyone," writes Prince William, in his first intervention on this subject.

"At the moment, I don't feel that we meet those standards and, as a former serving officer, I really mind it when those who wear the uniform now don't feel safe, respected or valued."

According to royal sources, Prince William has been holding his own fact-finding meetings with service women of all ranks, across the Army, Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.

He has now raised some of those concerns about the issues concerning women in the armed forces, in the article he commissioned for Country Life.

It cites a survey from the Ministry of Defence that found 67% of service women had faced unwanted "sexualised behaviour" every year and that 30% had considered leaving the armed forces because of such behaviour.

The article also references the experiences of Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, who took her own life at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in 2021.

Gunner Beck had faced months of unwanted attention and had reported a sexual assault and an inquest heard about a complaints system that failed to adequately respond.

Earlier this year, four young women told the BBC they were sexually assaulted and harassed at an Army training college for teenagers - the Army Foundation College at Harrogate, North Yorkshire - with one saying she was raped by fellow junior soldiers in an attack that lasted hours.

Prince William says he wants service women to feel proud to be part of the armed forces.

But he heard claims of sexualised bullying, such as making inappropriate comments, rumours being shared about women who turned down sexual advances and late-night harassment in barracks.

One junior service woman described women as being used as "commodities".

The prince's article also emphasises efforts being made to create a more positive culture and to prevent "outdated thinking and behaviour" and it highlights women who have had successful military careers.

And it shows how military kit, such as body armour, has been adapted for women, rather than assuming that the default would always be for male service personnel.

The chief of the defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, said he knew that the experience of women in the armed forces had "not always been what it should be".

"Where behaviours and attitudes have fallen short of the standards we expect, we must be honest about that and continue to drive change," he said.

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