Call for Evidence

In 2021, the Defence Sub-Committee, chaired by Sarah Atherton MP, conducted an inquiry into Women in the Armed Forces and female veterans. It published a detailed report in July 2021, which made a series of recommendations to improve the experiences of servicewomen and female veterans, focusing on all stages of a servicewoman’s career, from recruitment through to transition to civilian life. In November 2022, the Committee held a follow-up session with the MoD regarding progress on matters raised in the Report.

In May 2023, the Committee published anonymous whistleblower evidence from MoD medics who revealed unacceptable behaviour towards female servicewomen and poor handling of complaints. The Committee followed this up by writing to the Minister with a series of questions in July 2023.

The Committee welcomes written submissions on one or more of the following points:

• How much change has there been in past two years, when it comes to improving the experiences of female Service personnel and/or female veterans?
• What specific changes are you aware of against the Committee’s initial recommendations?
• Are there areas where you hope to see more change?
• Do you see ‘easy wins’ for the Services/MOD?
• What has helped or hindered change?

The Committee is currently asking for any updates to written submissions from 2023 by the end of February 2025.