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Woman's Hour: Woman in the Royal Navy 'was raped on ship'

10/11/2022

Woman in the Royal Navy 'was raped on ship'

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Woman in the Royal Navy 'was raped on ship'

A woman who served in the Royal Navy speaks about being raped while serving on a ship.

A woman who served in the Royal Navy for 20 years speaks for the first time about how she was raped and sexually assaulted during her career. Speaking to Emma Barnett on Woman’s Hour she describes experiencing several other incidents of sexual harassment during her time serving, including a colleague putting his penis on her shoulder. She says that when a senior colleague discovered she was pregnant, they suggested that an appointment be made for her to have an abortion. 

The Conservative MP Sarah Atherton serves on the Defence Select Committee, and led an inquiry last year into the experiences of women in the armed forces, which heard from 4200 women, including some 9% of women currently serving in the armed forces.  The Atherton report found that 64 percent of female veterans and 58 percent of currently-serving women reported experiencing bullying harassment or discrimination during their careers. Sarah joins Emma to give her response to Catherine’s story.

Lieutenant colonel Diane Allen, served for 37 years in the Army before resigning last year. She has previously called for a Me Too moment across the military. Diane has a website- forwarned - where she collates testimony from serving and former service personnel and joins Emma Barnett. 

At 53, Jenifer Aniston has opened up for the first time about spending years ‘throwing everything’ at trying to conceive, following years of speculation. There are so many stories of eventual happy endings for those on the infertility road. But what about those how who don’t have that? Emma Barnett is joined by Caroline Stafford, a baker, who shares her own experiences of what happens when things don’t work out.

Presenter: Emma Barnett
Producer: Emma Pearce

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