The men who are there to defend us are also attacking us.

This article deals with sexual harassment and assault.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is facing a reckoning. Women have had enough.

The results from the 2023 Workplace Behaviours Survey have painted a disturbing picture.

They show women are at significantly higher risk of general and sexual harassment in ADF institutions than their male counterparts.

At the Australian Defence Force Academy in 2023, women were almost seven times more likely to say they had been subject to sexual harassment than men, with 13 per cent of women saying they'd experienced it, as per ABC News.

In 2023, 41 per cent of navy members experienced any "unacceptable behaviour" in the previous 12 months, encompassing harassment, bullying, sexual harassment, violent behaviours, and abuse of power.

That was lower in the army at 35 per cent, and in the air force at 33 per cent, The Nightly highlighted. Many of these instances recorded impacted women.

Sadly, this isn't 'new news'.

In 2012, there was a review into the treatment of women in the ADF.

The report from the sex discrimination commissioner at the time, Elizabeth Broderick, found that one in four women in the ADF had experienced sexual harassment in the past five years.

Complaints were often not lodged because service members fear reprisals.

Watch: a look back at the famous Australian military apology. Post continues below.

The results from the Workplace Behaviours Survey comes just days after news that a group of defence force personnel and veterans might receive a combined multi-million dollar payout for the abuse they experienced during their service in the ADF.

Individuals could be paid up to a maximum of $50,000 under the scheme.

Army veteran Mindy Mackay alleges her experience of sexual harassment and assault in Jordan while she was studying with the ADF School of Languages in 2008, was downplayed by the military.

She also was reportedly harassed by her superiors for supporting a fellow soldier in their sexual assault case which went to trial in a civilian court, as per AAP.

Mackay is part of a group of people who have been recommended for a payment under this scheme.

"I felt disposable and worthless," she said to AAP. "I gaslit myself and thought maybe it wasn't that bad, after all, maybe I was imagining it to be worse than it actually was."

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide also released its final report earlier this week.

In that final report there were recommendations to investigate the prevalence and impact of sexual violence within the ADF more broadly.

Interestingly, results from the 2023 Workplace Behaviours Survey were only recently released to the public under an order from the Senate.

The report noted that the ADF's "code of silence" and "military values" had caused significant harm.

Senator David Shoebridge, Greens Spokesperson for Defence and Veterans Affairs, described it as "a once-in-a-generation report that must not just gather dust".

"There have been dozens of reports and hundreds of recommendations on Defence culture before now and nothing material has changed. Each time the Defence has struck back to squash reform," he said.

With AAP.

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.

Feature Image: Getty.