A female ex-Navy recruit has told of the sexual abuse she and many more have suffered – and said she would not want a daughter of hers to join the armed forces.

Ruth Sparkes, whose husband Simon also served in the Royal Navy, told the Daily Mail of her concerns after a report revealed the extent of armed forces harassment.

Mrs Sparkes, who joined up as a 17-year-old, endured derogatory comments as well as what she described as ‘opportunistic groping’ – and told how women in the services would warn each other to stay away from certain military personnel. 

She is speaking out after an official Armed Forces Sexualised Behaviours and Sexual Harassment Survey revealed widespread misconduct across the British military.

The report showed high levels of sexualised jokes, unwanted touching and behaviour that left many personnel feeling unsafe. 

Veterans minister Louise Sandher-Jones has described the findings as ‘wholly unacceptable’, while Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said the results illustrated the need for cultural reform.

The study showed 67 per cent of women in service experienced at least one form of sexualised behaviour in the past year, while 34 per cent of men experienced similar.

One in three women reported unwanted touching or groping and almost one in ten women reported sexual activity they did not consent to – with incidents described as more common in the junior ranks.

Ex-Navy recruit Ruth Sparkes has told of the sexual abuse suffered by women in the services

It comes after a sergeant major was jailed for six months for sexually assaulting a teenage female soldier who later took her own life.

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, was found dead in her room at Larkhill Camp, near Salisbury in Wiltshire, on December 15, 2021.

Her death came following a complaint she made against Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber, now 43, after he pinned her down and tried to kiss her, an inquest heard in February this year.

He has now been ordered to serve his sentence in a civilian prison by the Judge Advocate General Alan Large and a military board.

Webber, who was serving at the same base, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault at a pre-trial hearing and was sentenced on October 31 at Bulford Military Court in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

In a development this week, it was revealed two senior officers are now facing a court martial over how they handled the matter. 

Major James Hook and Colonel Samantha Shepherd have been charged with offences relating to ‘conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline’. 

Plea and trial preparation hearings are scheduled to take place at the Catterick Military Court Centre on March 11.  

Asergeant major was jailed in October 2025 for six months for sexually assaulting teenage female soldier Jaysley Beck (pictured) who later took her own life

Jaysley’s family previously welcomed the conviction of Webber but said ‘nothing can undo the devastating loss of our beautiful daughter’.

Her mother Leighann McCready said that the Army was ‘clearly not a safe space for young women’ and had written to the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Roly Walker, with her concerns about ‘multiple Army failings in the chain of command’ that led to Jaysley’s death.

‘As a consequence of that, he directed that our concerns be referred to the service police and we are relieved finally to have reached this stage today where two individuals have been charged,’ Ms McCready, from Cumbria, said.

‘It wouldn’t be appropriate to comment further on the latest court cases until they are over. But we can say we remain very unhappy with other parts of the Army’s response.

‘We were promised a new independent complaints process for service people – especially young women like Jaysley who often have to deal with very difficult and challenging situations – we have heard nothing further about this and as far as we can tell, young women are still not benefiting from it, almost a year on from the inquest and more than four years on from Jaysley’s death.

‘We feel constantly as though we have to push the Army to change and it is completely exhausting.’

Mrs Sparkes agreed better action was now needed within the armed forces.

The former Royal Navy engineer and founder of the safeguarding app SaferSpace.io, said of the military sexism study: ‘I’d like to say I was shocked by the survey’s findings, but I wasn’t – it was just what you’d expect to hear.

Ruth Sparkes (left) has set up an app called SaferSpace alongside Sunita Gordon (right)

‘But I’m honestly disappointed. There have been plenty of findings about sexual harassment and sexual misbehaviour across the armed forces.

‘It’s long standing. I experienced it and my colleagues experienced it – and it looks to be getting worse, to be honest. 

‘What I’m disappointed about is what we hear from the MoD and ministers, that they have policies in place to deal with problems – that ‘there’s no room in our armed forces’ for abuse. But there clearly is, isn’t there?

‘Nothing seems to be changing – and I believe it’s worse than it was.

‘The harassment that Jaysley Beck had to suffer – how would anyone cope with that?’

Mrs Sparkes described how modern technology including mobile phones made it easier for abusers to prey upon victims – although they could also potentially be traced that way.

She said: ‘It’s easier now to see what’s happening – not kept under a rock like they were. Texts, social media, sharing messages – they can now be seen.

‘But they are also new tools for predatory people, to harass especially young people who are most susceptible and don’t know what their rights are.’

Mrs Sparkes joined the Navy as a teenager, in Gosport in Hampshire, training to be an air engineer mechanic. 

She recalled: ‘I wasn’t really prepared for such male attention. I’d attended a mixed sex school and I was used to boys but not like this.

‘I was overwhelmed by the male attention and wasn’t prepared for how to deal with it.

‘When I joined, we didn’t have mobile phones, digital harassment, which there is now and is only getting worse.

‘People who have a propensity to harass young girls, young women, now have a lot more tools to do so than before.

‘You’d have lewd comments when queuing in the café or for a cup of tea. There would be opportunistic groping.

‘You’d learn to protect yourself – people would warn you who to stay away from. Women would tell each other who was a dodgy so-and-so. That was normal behaviour – well, I thought it was normal.

‘And if people complained, the attitude was, ‘If you don’t like it, you shouldn’t have joined up’.

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, was found hanging in her room at Larkhill Camp, near Salisbury in Wiltshire, on December 15, 2021 

‘I do think it has got worse. I have a son. If I had a daughter, I’d be thinking I wouldn’t want her to join – even though my husband is a former Royal Navy officer and we’ve both come from that background.

‘I know what will matter most to the next 17-year-old who walks through the main gate. She won’t be reading policy documents – but she will be watching what happens when someone reports.

‘She will listen to how senior staff talk about women and girls. And she will notice if the man or woman everyone warns her about is still in post.’

Mrs Sparkes added: ‘Too often, nothing happens. And silence is the enemy.’

She set up her SaferSpace app which advises people on how to report experiences of abuse anonymously, after reading an Ofsted report raising concerns about lack of safeguarding at a college where she previously worked.

Mrs Sparkes said: ‘The report found girls didn’t feel safe in common areas – and that was just in a three-day visit.

‘It got me thinking, it got me angry – and wondering, why are people not reporting?

‘I thought, if people could report from a mobile phone and could do that anonymously, that would help – not having to go through HR or a safeguarding office.’

The death of Jaysley Beck, 19, came after she complained about Sgt Major Michael Webber (pictured at the training event in Hampshire), after he pinned her down and tried to kiss her

An inquiry heard evidence from witnesses about inappropriate sexual behaviour by male soldiers towards their female colleagues at Larkhill – Jaysley Beck is pictured

The Ministry of Defence responded to the latest survey’s findings by saying: ‘Unacceptable and criminal behaviour has absolutely no place within the military and since this report was carried out in 2022, we have seen significant changes in the Army, including the introduction of clear and unequivocal policies to state that there will be zero tolerance to unacceptable sexual behaviours.

‘These changes are being embedded throughout our culture, policies, and enduring practices across every part of the Army.

‘The 2022 Cultural Audit of the British Army, along with several other data sources, events and initiatives such as the Army’s teamwork campaign and the establishment of the Defence Raising Our Standards Team has played a significant part in ongoing efforts at every level to improve the experience of servicewomen in the Army.’

Veterans minister Louise Sandher-Jones said: ‘All those who choose to serve our country must be able to do so with dignity and respect, which is why today’s survey results are wholly unacceptable.

‘We commissioned the UK’s first ever comprehensive military sexual harassment survey, which provides a no holds barred baseline to fully confront and address the root causes of this issue. New standards in transparency and accountability are being set across our Armed Forces.

‘As a veteran myself, this mission is deeply personal to me and I want our military to be the best in class on this issue.

‘Ministers and chiefs are working closely together to play our part in the Government’s central mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.’

Calls for further action come as two Army instructors who had sex with a teenage recruit and texted each other about her in a ‘disgraceful, indecent, and misogynistic’ way were jailed and sacked.

Lance Sergeant Antony Pugh, 36, and Sergeant Connor Forgan, 32, boasted to each other about their sexual relations with the 17-year-old trainee and described her as a ‘little hotty’ and ‘naked maid’, a court martial heard. 

The two men, who both served in Afghanistan, each formed separate sexual relationships with the recruit, who cannot be named for legal reasons. 

A military judge condemned the behaviour from the instructors and said that in Pugh’s case it amounted to ‘grooming’.  

Both soldiers were found guilty of having sex with a child in breach of a position of trust following a court martial at Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire.

It is forbidden for trainers and trainees in the British Army to have sexual relations.

Pugh was jailed for 20 months and Forgan was jailed for 16 months.

Pugh was accused of showering the victim with ‘bondage equipment’ and gifts from a lingerie and sex toy website.

The trainee, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she felt she could not say ‘no’ to the higher ranking man twice her age when he came to her accommodation.

At the time, the instructors and friends were based at Catterick, a North Yorkshire training establishment that turns civilians into soldiers. 

Commander Edward Hannah, prosecuting, said the victim was a ‘vulnerable child’, who was ‘upset and lonely’ at Catterick.

He said both defendants had shown degrees of planning in committing the offences and that they were in positions of trust owing to their rank.

‘The hierarchal structure of the military places power with rank, especially in a training facility,’ he added.

Judge Jane England said that neither of the instructors had taken responsibility for their actions and continued to ‘deny’ having sex with the victim.

She said this was an important in relation to Army recrutiment, adding: ‘A female recruit choosing to go into a combat role and being targeted by her instructors in phase two training will have a chilling effect on other female recruits.’

Both men were dismissed from the Army and placed on the sexual offender register.

An Army spokesman said: ‘We recognise the courage shown by the victim to ensure this extremely serious crime could be investigated and taken to a successful conviction.’ 

Veterans minister Ms Sandher-Jones said: ‘All those who choose to serve our country must be able to do so with dignity and respect. 

‘I commend the bravery of the victim for coming forward. Today’s sentencing marks another step in rooting out criminal and unacceptable behaviour.

‘We will ensure there is nowhere to hide for those who commit sexual violence. 

‘Through our Armed Forces Bill we are bringing about crucial reforms to better protect recruits and improve faith in the service justice system.’