Military wives and girlfriends who suffer chilling domestic abuse involving ‘battlefield techniques’ at the hands of high-ranking servicemen are being failed by the Ministry of Defence and justice system, a damning report has found.
A dossier of 52 harrowing cases reveals victims have been tortured with military techniques including chokeholds and restraints, have been raped, threatened with combat weapons and even taunted by the maiming of family pets by elite troops who have been ‘kill-trained’ for armed conflicts.
Some were subject to sophisticated tracking involving military resources and equipment.
One woman, diagnosed with PTSD after the abuse, reported that her husband brought home combat knives and a remote transponder to set off an improvised explosive device (IED) after threatening to put one around the front door.
Another told how she had a stroke after excessive strangulation by a partner in the Special Forces who also used torture tactics, including pressing his thumbs into her eye sockets.
But a significant proportion of the women reported that MoD welfare services and the Royal Military Police ‘closed rank’ when such abuse was reported – and either failed to investigate or dismissed concerns for their safety. Some women were told by welfare staff that their job was to ‘protect our boys’.
The report also claims top brass are prepared to submit glowing character references for alleged abusers whose cases come before the family and criminal courts, which campaigners say is ‘swaying’ judges in their favour and putting families at risk.
The deeply disturbing revelations – described by campaigners as the armed forces’ ‘nasty, big secret’ – are particularly embarrassing for the MoD because it is implementing its Domestic Abuse Action Plan 2024-29.
Hellbound and Down 