An investigation initiated by Admiral Sir Ben Key, head of the Royal Navy, has confirmed a culture of “misogyny, bullying, and other unacceptable behaviours” within the Submarine Service.
The inquiry, which began in 2022 following allegations from former lieutenant Sophie Brook, highlighted a toxic environment where female personnel were subjected to severe harassment and abuse.
Brook, who has since left the service, described enduring a “constant campaign of sexual bullying.”
In addition to numerous instances of lewd comments and inappropriate behaviour, the investigation also uncovered at least one reported case of rape. The report implicates both junior and senior officers in creating and perpetuating the hostile environment.
In response to the findings, Admiral Key issued a public apology: “The investigation has confirmed misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours did occur during the investigation period, and this is intolerable.”
He added, “As the head of the Royal Navy, today I also offer a public apology, both to Ms Brook and to any personnel—past or present—that have been subject to any form of unacceptable behaviour during their time in service. I am truly sorry.”
The investigation’s recommendations have already led to significant actions within the Royal Navy. Several individuals have been discharged, and a new “zero-tolerance policy” on sexual misconduct has been implemented.
Key recommendations include the formalisation of a policy requiring Commanding Officers within the Submarine Fleet to produce Command Directives aligned with Royal Navy values and standards. These directives will be regularly reviewed to ensure compliance with the new behavioural expectations.
The report further outlined the need for enhanced leadership training, recommending the introduction of a “people-centred approach to leadership” within all submarine training, including the Submarine Command Course. Another critical step involves reinforcing the duty of personnel to report unacceptable behaviour, with reminders issued during all routine briefings.
The Royal Navy also recognised the need for ongoing monitoring of command climates to prevent the recurrence of such toxic environments. “Before and after each deployment, a team will visit crews to assess operational culture and provide feedback to sustain healthy working conditions,” the report stated.
Additionally, the report identified areas for improvement in victim care. It recommends that victims of serious offences, such as rape and sexual assault, be provided with access to a Victim Liaison Officer and other forms of specialised support.
Other measures include strengthening the reporting of unacceptable behaviour through confidential channels and improving the process for exit interviews to capture data on those leaving due to harassment or abuse.
Admiral Key concluded with a commitment to ensuring long-term change within the Royal Navy: “We must be better than this and do better than we have.” The investigation’s recommendations are being closely monitored, with annual checks put in place to validate compliance across the Submarine Fleet.
There will always be bullies, but if the institution is well run and supportive then the impact they have can be minimised.
Given women represent 10% of the work force and RN is desperately short of people looking after everyone has got to be a priority or, putting the moral arguments to one side for a moment, operational effectiveness could be seriously impacted especially on a sub. Just one person not concentrating because of what is happening to then on aboard could put the whole boat and crew at risk. Bullies are the worst.
On the plus side the initial response and changes Admiral Key has brought in sound, on the face of it, to be robust, comprehensive and send a very clear message to the bullies.
Lets hope it all works.
Cheers CR
I salute them, I don’t think I could do what they do.
I am sorry to say it, but this was always going to occasionally happen in submarines. Same sort of reason some didn’t want women in tank crews.
I’m not sorry to say it’s completely unacceptable, recruits have committed suicide, incidents of sexual assault etc etc and at that point the Commander in Chief was a woman. How ironic !
For any organisation to function efficiently every single person has to able to trust their colleagues and that has to be more so in a military unit where lives are at risk. So where were the NCO’s and Officers or are they no longer responsible for all those under their command ?
I never served in the forces but ended up as a manager in a large industrial company. In 40 years we went from zero female apprentices and 99% white to 35% and very socially integrated. And yes I sacked some folks along the way for various ER transgression’s but I can honestly say it was worth it.
I served from 1975 to 2009. Women’s position in the army changed dramatically, but in that time there was always strong views on the issue of women serving on surface ships, submarines, and in army roles embracing close combat, such as infantry combat roles and those of tank crews – and that there would probably be some issues.
You really can’t compare this to that existing in a 9 to 5 civilian company.
Nowhere have I said that women should not serve in the roles I have outlined. Just that there would be issues, and there have been.
People talk about a failure of leadership when an incident happens. That really is a simple and rather naiive point of view. A leader can stress the code of conduct and say that miscreants will be severely dealt with etc, but the command team are not around their people 24/7. Where were the officers and NCOs at, say, 0300hrs? Probably not in the forward torpedo room, or whatever.
Sadly incidents will occur and it is down to human nature, human weaknesses, human foibles.
“So where were the NCO’s and Officers or are they no longer responsible for all those under their command ?”
Who do you think was committing a lot of these offences*. Its not like some women gravitate to power. And yes, it goes all the up the guy with 3 rings.
Thankfully I missed this, they were just putting the girls on boats as I was leaving. I do remember the ‘teething troubles’ when they joined ships though.
*I have it on good authority that in some instances the females were at least as culpable as the males.
Andy, your last sentence means that some women bullied men, were guilty of misandry, unacceptable touching of men, sexually predatory behaviour towards men, committed sexual assaults on men and also forced men to have sex against their will. Are you sure?
Is that what you took from my post ?
Fair enough.
They need all the manning they can get. They need to attract more females to the service.
They need to attract more people, full stop. I have an ex WREN Cousin; a just retired commander God daughter and a serving NCO (another Cousin) in my family, all female. I rang one this morning who lives locally to ask her view and whilst she is a tough no nonsense young lady she doesn’t think that mixed crews for subs is a good idea. For what it’s worth.🙄
I admire anyone who is willing to serve on subs. Incredible machines. But it’s a very unique way of life. Many of them love it and wouldn’t serve on anything else. I liked fresh air and sunshine myself and the waft of aviation fuel across the flight deck.
UKDJ is having a glitch I think. Couldn’t find your post but clicked on Jons next and hear you are Have a look at my reply somewhere here !
Dreadnought is designed for mixed crews and SSN-A will be too, It not just the way the wind is blowing. It has already blown.
…but if it’s causing problems?
Are women equal to men in this particular environment, being submerged for considerable periods of time?
As in medically and psychologically. Not the oft suggested lack of physicality compared to men in say an infantry battlefield role.
I ask as, has an all female crew ever been considered?
Sure, you may still have sexual harassment and internal feuds even then.
Good Afternoon M8. Something for you to ponder on, but I happen to think that Females may be better suited to Submarines than Men. Psychologically females are statistically less prone to serious occurrences than men hence suicide rate for Females is 5.2 per 100K, but for Men it is 16.4 per 100K.
Food for thought.🤔
🤔
Wow.. that’s a mental, amazing and very informative statistic.
Discipline, it is not difficult.
Except when trying to keep people in the service who should not have been there in the first place.
As an ex-Army wallah I would say – what are the sergeants doing?
Petty officers I presume in this case. They would appear to be the problem.
Achieving perfect discipline 24/7 is exceptionally difficult. In fact it is impossible. In your army unit, was it ever achieved? Noone ‘on report’, OCs orders, Defaulter parade, COs orders?
Are the NCOs on top of things 24/7?
Of course not, people were put on orders even in N Ireland.
But when this happens people should get dealt with .
This behaviour seems to be endemic, I doubt that it really is but this does crop up too frequently.
Dave, you said discipline was not difficult. When the women get bullied, ill-treated, sexually abused etc, then I have confidence that the discipline system will swing into action, if the matter is reported. But it is better if it did not happen in the first place.
Agree, totally.
Discipline should be like deterrence, transgressing is not worth it.
Modern volunteer forces do not work that way – upset someone they will leave. Also, volunteer forces, look at the people one gets for crap money and conditions! Well, the desperate who are good for bugger all else, myself in 1976.
Can’t comment, except to say, when cases go to Courts Martial, normally Junior female officers and their Command element.
Seems on the face of it, that Navy CPOs have a grip on the situation. Happy to be educated.
Arguably you are quite correct.
Navy officers at unit/ship command level have not done well in recent years.
Ah! Comissioned ranks, it is not ill discipline it is “high jinks”.
Er…
I read the other day,and I think I’m right, that the MOD/forces have 97 different diversity and inclusion groups. Perhaps they should start with getting rid of those along with the useless recruitment co. and start offering jobs in the High Street again. I kmow…I’m just dreaming about common sense…😉
There is no such thing as common sense, if there was more of us would have it.
The amount of idiots in this comments section suggesting that removing women from the submarine service is a solution is concerning. Not only is a ridiculous suggestion, the RN does not have the manpower to do so.
I don’t think anyone has suggested that.
Semi-related factoid: USS New Jersey (SSN 796?), the first Virginia class submarine specifically designed to accommodate a co-ed crew, was commissioned on 14 Sep 24. Approximately 730 female USN sailors are assigned to submarine duty as of Aug 24. Would presume that Coumbia, Dreadnought, and SSN-A designs are/will be designed to accommodate co-ed crews. The fact that future submarines are becoming significantly larger dimensionally may ease the implementation of that requirement. 🤔
There is absolutely no excuse for this, it happens in just about every other workplace as well. Why should there be ‘all male’ or even ‘all female’ scenarios, unless on health or safety grounds (which I am struggling to think of one). Women and men both bring great capabilities. If we can send women into space on long mixed missions I don’t see why a submarine should be any different?
Sexual predators of either sex disgust me and should be 100% outed and shamed.
Making excuses for their actions and the ‘they shouldn’t be there in the first place’ routine is actually pretty shameful.
Happens everywhere as well though- people only have to mention sexual discrimination to sway judgements – and they do .
Hi Robert…I ckicked on the link and it didn’t show your post?? Yes, I had a friend, Julian who was a “techie” on the R boats years ago. He did three runs. Made and painted the most mind boggling model army figues while he was away for his war game hobby when he got back. I’m with you. Fresh air and the horizon..😎
I find it funny that on an article about misogyny and bullying my comment was deleted.
I wonder if the replies are deleted or if they are still there, just not displaying. My reply (which may well have been in the same chain) was also deleted, but it’s still in the activity log.
If enough people report a comment as abusive it gets hidden (not deleted) and by default the site then hides the entire conversation from that comment on wards.
Stephanie’s comment getting removed is down to enough people reporting it.
Well, the publicity around this will almost certainly have discouraged some people from applying to join the services. Lots of good work can be undone by one bad headline, and this is certainly a bad headline. People will tend to see the problem and not the work done to put things right.
And at least one young officer has now left the service over this issue. I hope she is doing well.
You cannot legislate for the ‘darker side’ of humanity. Unfortunately, bullies, misogynists and miscreants in general, do not come labelled or with a health warning. These types of individuals slip through vetting procedures in civilian, as well as in military life.
There are/were those ‘old school’ types of individuals (of which I was probably one), who did not think a woman should be exposed to the real down and dirty horrors, of a battlefield. It is still my belief, that there is no place for a woman in hand to hand fighting, where whatever comes to hand is employed for the sole purpose of killing the person opposite.
Indeed there are plenty of men who would not, could not do such things. However, as an ‘old school type’, my reasons were not misogynistic in nature, but borne from a belief that men are bad enough, without wishing to taint the ‘fairer’ sex with that darker side of man.
I do believe that anyone found guilty of bullying, misogyny or any other such deplorable behaviour, should be dishonourably discharged, losing all rights and privileges associated with ex Military personnel.
I am a little ‘surprised’ however, that a bully or misogynist can slip through psychological testing, for the silent service.
I take it there is rigorous psychological testing for those wishing to enter the Submarine Service?