Four servicewomen have launched a landmark class action lawsuit against the Australian Army, alleging sexual abuse, harassment and discrimination.
Lawyers said they expected thousands of women to join the lawsuit against the Australian Defense Force (ADF) filed in the Federal Court on Friday.
Claims by the four women leading the case – whose names have been withheld for legal reasons – include being pinned to a wall before being forcibly stabbed, and being stripped and bruised after partying with male officers.
A spokesman for the ADF said it was developing a policy to prevent sexual abuse and that there was “no place for sexual violence” in the military.
All women who served between November 12, 2003 and May 25, 2025 are eligible to join the lawsuit filed by law firm JGA Sadler.
One of the main applicants was an Air Force member who was one of two women in the building of about 200 people.
She alleged that she was subjected to hostile and sexual comments, inappropriate conversations, as well as unwanted lewd photos.
She alleged that her sergeant told her that “women should not be paid as much as men because they are not as strong”.
Another woman among the four applicants who joined the Navy said she was subjected to lewd comments and unwanted touching during her training.
She also alleged that one of her colleagues caught and kissed her while on duty abroad.
A Major report Last year Australian Veterans Suicide found there were almost 800 reports of sexual abuse in the ADF between 2019 and 2024.
It noted that there was an estimated under-reporting rate of sexual abuse in the ADF of 60% and that it was “only a subset of all forms of sexual abuse that occur”.
“The threat of war is not the greatest security fear for female ADF personnel, it is the threat of sexual violence in their workplace,” said Josh Aylward, lawyer for JGA Sadler.
“They signed up to defend their country, not to fight with fellow ADF personnel on a daily basis, just trying to do their job.”
An ADF spokesman admitted there was “work to be done” and added that “all defense personnel have the right to be respected and deserve a positive workplace experience in the ADF”.
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