“Everyone thinks rape is a women’s issue, I did too, until it happened to me.” 

In 2021, Forward Assist, a military veterans charity,  published its report, “El Hombre Invisible”. It is one of the most painful reports I have ever read. I can barely get through a few pages without feeling my body tighten and experiencing a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

“El Hombre Invisible” includes harrowing stories from 30 male military veterans, revealing sexual abuse, harassment and rape whilst serving in the British Armed Forces. I was already well aware of the similarly horrific experiences of women veterans. I helped promote Forward Assist’s joint 2019 report “No Man’s Land” with Salute Her – a female veterans charity – to politicians in the UK (we received a very lukewarm response). “No Man’s Land” also detailed the sexual offences and silencing experienced by women. Learning about the sexual offences stories from so many men woke me from my lazy assumption that rape is predominantly a women’s issue.

Telling women and men’s stories has become a core focus for Forward Assist and Salute Her. The charities, founded and run by Tony Wright and Paula Edwards, offer practical, compassionate support and guidance to former service personnel to help them reintegrate into civilian life. From employment to mental health support, they provide an array of tailored and holistic services. Their engagement is founded on developing and nurturing strong, trusted relationships with and between their users, with all activities designed to improve mental and physical well-being and reduce social isolation, loneliness and trauma. I won’t share the stories or harrowing quotes here, but I encourage you to read the reports, which can be found on Forward Assist’s website and come with a trigger warning. 

Frankly, it’s been hard to get politicians to take up the issue. Sarah Atherton, Member of Parliament for Wrexham since 2019 and the first female MP to have served in the regular armed forces, is the exception. She’s been fighting to raise awareness of the pervasive culture of sexual abuse and bullying in the military ever since we brought the research to her attention soon after she got elected. She has already achieved so much, especially in getting women veterans’ voices heard in Parliament. 

In December 2020, the Commons Defence Select Committee launched a sub-committee inquiry into women in the armed forces, chaired by Atherton. It explored the numerous challenges facing military women today, from sexual offences to practical problems including ill-fitting uniforms and inadequate support for military mothers. The inquiry report – “Protecting those who protect us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life” – was subsequently published in July 2021 and included a set of strong recommendations. 

This brave effort had led to increased attention on the issues so many in politics and the armed forces find hard to acknowledge, let alone discuss and address.…