Military sex abuse victims to be offered legal aid

People who report a sexual offence committed by anyone in the military will be offered free legal advice under a new scheme.

The initiative follows several cases of sexual harassment within the armed forces, including the death of Gunner Jaysley Beck who took her own life at her barracks at Larkhill, Wiltshire in 2021.

The Army has admitted it did not listen to the 19-year-old, who was originally from Cumbria, when she reported a sexual assault by Warrant Officer Michael Webber.

The support, carried out by solicitors outside of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), will be available to service personnel and civilians.

The Independent Legal Advocacy (ILA) support programme will run as a 12-month pilot from the spring.

"We are determined that those who come forward to report rape or sexual assault get the support they need," said veterans and people minister Louise Sandher-Jones.

Sandher-Jones said the service will ensure "victim-survivors get free, independent legal advice - completely outside the chain of command" and will "help them understand their rights and navigate what can be a daunting journey to justice".

The new pilot scheme comes after the MoD's first military-wide sexual harassment survey was published in November. It found that sexual jokes, leering and unwanted touching were widespread in the armed forces, and more likely to impact women.

Meanwhile, an ongoing investigation by Wiltshire Police has led to more than 500 reports from people who claim they were sexually abused during military medical examinations from the 1970s up to 2016 at locations across the UK.

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