Australian servicemen have launched a landmark sexual abuse case against military personnel

Four servicewomen have filed a landmark class action against the Australian military, alleging sexual assault, harassment and discrimination.

Lawyers said they expected thousands of women to join the case against the Australian Defense Force (ADF), which was filed in the Federal Court on Friday.

Allegations by the four women leading the case – who cannot be named for legal reasons – include being forcibly pinned to a wall before being groped and waking up naked and bruised after partying with male officers.

An ADF spokesman said it was developing a strategy to prevent sexual behavior and that there was “no place for sexual abuse” in the army.

All women who served between Nov. 12, 2003, and May 25, 2025, are eligible to join the lawsuit, filed by law firm JGA Saddler.

One of the leading candidates was an Air Force member who was one of two women in a building of about 200 people.

She claims that she was subjected to hostile and sexist comments, inappropriate conversations, and being shown unsolicited pornographic images.

She also claimed that her sergeant told her that “women shouldn’t be paid as much as men because they’re not as strong.”

Another of the four female candidates who joined the navy said she was subjected to lewd comments during her training and unwanted touching.

She also claims that while working abroad, she was grabbed and kissed by a colleague who resisted her attempts to escape.

A main report on suicide among Australian veterans last year found about 800 reports of sexual abuse were made in the ADF between 2019 and 2024.

It notes that there is an estimated 60% under-reporting rate of sexual abuse in the ADF and that this is “only a fraction of all forms of sexual misconduct that occur”.

“The threat of war is often not the greatest fear for the safety of female ADF personnel, it is the threat of sexual assault in their workplace,” said lawyer Josh Aylward of JGA Saddler.

“They have signed up to defend their country, not to be fighting on a daily basis with their fellow ADF personnel as they simply try to do their jobs.”

An ADF spokesman admitted there was “work to be done” and added that “all defense personnel are entitled to be respected and deserve to have a positive workplace experience in the ADF”.