Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many cases of (a) sexual assault, (b) sexual harassment and (c) rape have been reported to (i) the Royal Military Police and (ii) civilian police forces by Armed Forces personnel serving at RAF colleges in the UK in each of the last five years.

Statistical information on Murder, Manslaughter, Sexual Offences and Domestic Abuse in the Service Justice System is published by the Department on gov.uk. However, further detail is not held centrally and the answers to these questions could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The Royal Military Police are the Service Police for the Army. The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force have their own Service Police. The Defence Serious Crime Unit, formed in December 2022, has the jurisdiction to investigate the most serious and complex crimes alleged to have been committed by persons subject to service law in both the UK and overseas, including sexual offences, domestic abuse and offences of violence.

While some information is held by the single Services on crimes reported to and investigated by the Civilian Police, the information recorded is based on that provided by or obtained from the Civilian Police or the subject, therefore the Department is unable to provide official data in this respect.

“Sexual harassment” is not an offence under civil or Armed Forces law, however Defence has made it clear there is zero tolerance to any form of unacceptable sexual behaviour. Under the MOD’s Zero Tolerance Part One (Sexual Offences and Instructor/Trainee Relations) policy, for all Service persons who are convicted of a sexual offence, or who are placed on the Sex Offenders Register there is a mandatory presumption of discharge from the Armed Forces. Similarly, for Zero Tolerance Part Two (Unacceptable Sexual Behaviour – A Victim/Survivor Focused Approach), there is a presumption of discharge for those found in breach of this policy.