Sexual Harassment (Armed Forces)

Defence written statement – made at on 23 June 2005.

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Photo of John Reid John Reid Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence, The Secretary of State for Defence

The Chief of the Defence Staff and I have today signed an agreement with the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) setting out measures to prevent and deal with sexual harassment in the armed forces.

We have been in discussion with the Equal Opportunities Commission for several months about this issue. The agreement is a result of these very positive discussions and commits us to review our policies and procedures in a rigorous time-frame

Our policies already make clear that harassment and bullying of any kind will not be tolerated. Nevertheless, we accept that cases of sexual harassment do occur in the armed forces and that more needs to be done to address this issue. Accordingly, we look forward to working with the Commission to achieve the outcomes and targets set out in the agreement.

A copy of the agreement will be deposited in the Library of the House and it will be published on the Department's internet site.