A MAJORITY of women in the defence sector, including in the Ministry of Defence (MoD), have experienced sexual harassment at work, a damning survey by the Prospect union revealed today.

About 61 per cent of women working in the MoD, 60 per cent at related agencies or arms bodies and 47 per cent in the private sector said they experienced sexual harassment.

Prospect members reported being raped and sexually assaulted in the workplace, receiving an unsolicited photo of a colleague’s penis, unwanted sexual advances, or insults relating to their appearance and sexuality, with few or no repercussions for offenders.

Three quarters of 308 respondents had also witnessed or experienced sexual harassment at least once a month over the last year, with around 8 per cent saying it happened weekly and almost 4 per cent on a daily basis.

Nearly a third of respondents reported experiencing direct touching, one in five receive unwanted messages by text or email and nearly one in 10 have been sexually assaulted.

About 11 per cent of respondents working for the MoD say they have been sexually assaulted in a work-related setting.

And 45 respondents working in the MoD have been sexually harassed by someone in a military grade.

One MoD worker said: “I have had to physically pull a colleague who was much larger and stronger than me off a female colleague.

“Because he was so strong I had to scratch and hit him to try and get him off, throughout this my female colleague was crying and grasping for my hand.

“It was quite traumatising for the both of us, we were 19-20 years old at the time.”

She said her manager discouraged her from reporting the attack formally and suggested she avoid a career-enhancing event led by the perpetrator.  

Prospect deputy general secretary Sue Ferns said that it must be made “absolutely clear from the very top that there will be zero tolerance of sexual harassment, backed up by concrete action.”

She said: “Bad behaviour thrives in an environment where it is tolerated. Nothing short of a wholesale culture change is required.

“It’s time the MoD and other employers worked properly with trade unions to stamp this out.”

An MoD spokesperson said it has launched a review of its complaints procedure in consultation with external bodies, including trade unions, as part of its plan to address “instances of unacceptable behaviour.”