Two years on from the government response to an inquiry into women’s lives in the forces, those who serve still face a culture of violent misogyny
After graduating from university in 2017, Alice fulfilled a long-held ambition and began officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. She says she quickly learned to become “hyper-vigilant” because of harassment, objectification and “a sexualised undercurrent”. However, that also came with male camaraderie, respect and friendship. “People live together and they work together, and there is also rank. There are so many layers of complexity. It’s exhausting.”
Four years ago, while a troop commander, after a night at a ball during which she had been on her customary guard, she was sexually assaulted with penetration by a fellow officer, witnessed by a colleague. “I didn’t report it: it seemed unfathomable to do so. I was overwhelmed by the assault, the implications of what would happen to the regiment and because I had trusted these people. I quietly disassociated from my body. I just wanted to get on with my career and my life without everything blowing up.”
