Submission from the Centre for Military Justice (CMJ) to the DEFENCE COMMITTEE INQUIRY – WOMEN IN THE ARMED FORCES – From Recruitment to Civilian Life.

CMJ RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. That Recommendation 1 of the Lyons Review be accepted and implemented (that the court martial jurisdiction should no longer include murder, manslaughter and rape where these offences are committed in the UK, except when the consent of the Attorney General is given). At the very least, the offence of rape must be added to the category of ‘very serious crimes’ that are to be referred for investigation by the civil police, not the service police.
2. That Recommendation 2 of the Lyons Review be accepted and implemented (that sexual assault with penetration) be proceeded with under the civil jurisdiction when the offences are committed in the UK and placing guidance in the Prosecutors Protocol and other relevant protocols as to the allocation of these cases. The CMJ would support sexual assault without penetration also being so referred.
3. That Recommendation 3 of the Lyons Review be accepted and implemented (that domestic violence and child abuse offences committed in the UK should always be dealt with in the civil system and the Prosecutors Protocol should be amended to reflect this by containing specific guidance).
4. That the new Defence Authority for Cultures and Behaviours that was recommended to be created by ACM Sir Michael Wigston should be created as envisaged by him and, in particular, that it should be assigned responsibility for the handling of serious bullying, harassment and discrimination service complaints, taking them outside of the single services.
5. That the data recording within the service justice system be upgraded in accordance with the Lyons Review recommendations, and that sharing arrangements between these civil police and the service police be reviewed and consolidated and the necessary legislative changes be introduced to enable this to happen, as recommended in the Wigston Review.
6. To increase the range of sexual offences that will fall to be collated and published every year by the MoD in its sexual offences bulletins, to include the following: s1 Protection of Children Act 1978 (taking etc. indecent photographs of children); s160 Criminal Justice Act 1988 (possession of indecent photograph of a child); s63 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (possession of an extreme pornographic image); s33 Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (disclosing private photographs and films); s67 Serious Crime Act 2015 (sexual communications with a child); ss1, 2A, 4, 4A Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (harassment and stalking offences); and sexual assault criminal attempt offences.
7. To add to the list of criminal offences contained at Schedule 2 to the Armed Forces Act, the following offences:
   1. Common assault where there is a domestic abuse context
   2. Actual Bodily Harm where there is a domestic abuse context
   3. Disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress (‘revenge

      porn’) (s. 33 Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015)

   4. Possession of extreme pornographic images (s.63 Criminal Justice and Immigration

      Act 2008)

   5. Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship (s.76 Serious

      Crime Act 2015); and

   6. Voyeurism: additional offences (‘up skirting’) (s.67(A) Sexual Offences Act 2003).
8. To add to the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude’s survey a specific question about whether the perpetrator of the sexual harassment or sexual assault was a service person. To ensure that data about the specific responses of women and BAME service personnel is included in the AFCAS published report.

9. To ensure that all members of the Armed Forces are aware of their right to report any criminal offence to the civilian police, should they wish to do so, as long as such cases are not automatically referred to the civil justice system.
10. To include in the annual Ministry of Defence sexual offences bulletins, data about the number of reports of sexual assaults received, which were subsequently ‘down-graded’ to a non-sexual assault.