Ex-Army dog handler suing MoD for £200k after ‘facing two years of sexual harassment and bullying’
AN ex-Army dog handler is suing the MoD for £200,000 over claims she faced two years of sexual harassment and bullying.
Stefanie Leyshon, 35, who joined the service in 2011, says her career was blighted by abuse from June 2018 to May 2020.
She claims it created an “intimidating, humiliating and offensive environment” and a complaint to her employers was largely upheld in 2022.
Ms Leyshon, of Rutland, East Mids, says she suffers psychiatric injuries as a result of her treatment in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps.
She was discharged in February and accuses the MoD of failing to provide her with a safe place and safe system of work.
The ex-lance corporal is now seeking damages.
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It comes as the average MoD payout to complainants more than doubled from £100,527 to £235,564.
Last month there were calls for the Defence Secretary Grant Shapps to launch an urgent investigation after 60 female staff at the MoD reported a widespread culture of sexual assault and harassment from male colleagues.
The group of women said they had experienced a “toxic” and “hostile” working environment in a letter submitted to the MOD’d permanent secretary David Williams.
The leaked letter, which was revealed in The Guardian, said women had been “groped” and “touched repeatedly” while at work.
