Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what procedures his Department has to hold (a) members of the armed forces and (b) civilian defence personnel accountable for acts of sexual harassment at the workplace.

Unacceptable behaviour is not tolerated in Defence, and anyone failing to meet our values and standards will be dealt with robustly. There is no place in either the Civil Service or the Armed Forces for unacceptable sexual behaviour; the Armed Forces have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy with a presumption of discharge for any Service Person who engages in unacceptable sexual behaviour. The Civil Service has an equally robust policy which can result in dismissal.

Sexual harassment can be reported through informal or formal complaints processes, and any formal complaint of sexual harassment will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action taken. If the harassment is judged to amount to unlawful conduct, individuals are encouraged to contact the Service, civilian or Ministry of Defence police.

Where a Service Complaint has been raised for sexual harassment by a member of the Armed Forces, it is dealt with entirely outside the individual’s chain of command; it is investigated by the Outsourced Investigation Service and an Independent Member oversees the Decision and Appeal Bodies, to ensure the case is dealt with fairly.

For civil servants, all formal complaints relating to bullying, harassment including sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation are dealt with outside of the line management chain from beginning to end of the process, including the investigation, which is conducted by an Outsourced Investigation Service. Where such a complaint is upheld, respondents who are civil servants will face action through the misconduct and discipline policy and procedures, which are clear that more severe examples of bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation, particularly where it is intentional and conscious, constitute gross misconduct, and the likely sanction is dismissal.

Defence is working to prevent and tackle all forms of unacceptable behaviour, including sexual harassment. The importance of tackling this type of behaviour is recognised at the highest levels of Defence; the leadership of Defence – both Civil Service and military – are fully committed to taking the actions required to tackle this type of behaviour. To do this, we need more people to report sexual harassment when it happens. Reports of sexual harassment will be treated seriously, sensitively, promptly and in confidence.

Our non-executive directors have been asked to review the Civil Service complaints procedures and the ‘Speak Up’ arrangements against external best practice to see how they could be further strengthened.