Military personnel and civilians who experience sexual assault, domestic abuse or stalking at the hands of serving members of the Armed Forces will receive stronger protections under the new Armed Forces Bill.
The Bill, which is being debated in Parliament today for its Second Reading, introduces a suite of measures to protect victims of serious and sexual offences within the Service Justice System. These include
- New protective orders to enable swifter action against perpetrators, reducing the risk of further harm to victims of inappropriate sexualised behaviours, domestic abuse, stalking and harassment.
- Stronger guidance and support to help victims provide an informed view to prosecutors on whether they want their case tried in civilian courts or the military system.
- The Bill will also give service police increased powers for investigations, including introducing new powers for Service police to authorise pre-charge custody. Currently only commanding officers can authorise pre-charge detention after arrest. This can create delays in the investigation process, prevention the preservation of evidence or risk further harm to victims and witnesses or to the suspect themselves.
The Minister for Veterans and People, Louise Sandher-Jones MP, said
Having served in the Army, I recognise the challenges victims can face when coming forward to report offences.
We will ensure there is nowhere to hide for those who commit sexual violence. This Bill will strengthen protections for victims of serious and sexual crime, ensuring they receive the support they need and have a choice in how their case is handled.
Unacceptable and criminal behaviour has no place in our Armed Forces. Defence will play our part in delivering on this Government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls, while recognising that abuse can affect anyone.
The new measures build on Defence’s efforts to ensure the Service Justice System champion a victim-centred approach.
This includes a pioneering prevention programme introduced by the Government in November 2025 to tackle the issue of unacceptable sexual behaviour and harassment in our Armed Forces. New prevention teams will operate from military sites in North Yorkshire and Plymouth, delivering training interventions to tackle the cultural and behavioural root causes of unacceptable sexual behaviour.
The measure supports the Government’s mission to halve Violence Against Women and Girls within a decade, while recognising that abuse can happen to anyone regardless of gender.
It also follows the creation of the Victim Witness Care Unit (VCWU) in 2023, which provides independent, trauma-informed, end to end support to victims and witnesses of serious crime, ensuring they receive the care and assistance they deserve.
In the Service Justice System, adult rape-flagged investigations are dealt with in quicker time, as highlighted in figures from 2024. That year, investigations in the civilian system took 338 days, with 59% of victims withdrawing, but 148 days with a further 72 days until a charge is directed, in the Service Justice System with 24% of victims withdrawing.
Whilst conviction rates cannot be reliably compared, published data casts doubt on claims that the conviction rate is higher in the Crown Court. The conviction rate in the Court Martial for adult rape-flagged cases (excluding guilty pleas), is 51% from 2022 to 2024 compared to 36% in the Crown Court in the financial years 2022/23 to 2025.
These data points – in combination with the strengthened measures introduced through the Bill – demonstrate that the Service Justice System delivers swifter justice for victims, helping more cases to reach quicker conclusion and ensuring victims’ confidence that this is a system that will support and protect them.
These measures sit alongside wider Armed Forces Bill provisions including the creation of a new Defence Housing Service and extending the Armed Forces Covenant across all areas of government. There are also new powers to deter, detect and defeat drone incursions over military sites.