A charity which helps female armed services personnel has called on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to change the way sexual abuse is dealt with in the forces.
Salute Her UK, which supports 6,000 women, said 82% of those said they had been raped or sexually assaulted.
Paula Edwards, chief executive of the Northumberland charity which is calling for all sex crimes to be investigated independently of the military, said victims faced "institutional betrayal" and felt "punished" for being abused.
The MoD said any serious crime, including non-recent reports, are thoroughly investigated independently from a person's chain of command and could be investigated by civilian police.
Currently sexual abuse complaints are dealt with internally by the military while crimes are investigated by the Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU), an independent body which works away from the chain of command.
However, the charity has raised concerns that DSCU is not independent enough to investigate claims and fully support victims.
Warning: This story contains distressing details.
Two women spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity as granted to all sexual abuse complainants.
Woman One, who served in the armed forces for three years, said she was raped more than 100 times while in service.
Following basic training, she said she would be taken out drinking by male colleagues to the point where she could not "remember or consent".
"We'd go out and I'd be waking up somewhere where I didn't know, every single weekend there'd be someone wanting their turn to take advantage of me."
She said she was left "gobsmacked" after her commanding officer told her to stop "sleeping around" with members of her troop.
"I was 18 at the time, still quite naive and I felt embarrassed as if I was just some sort of slag.
"I'd never even heard of consent at the time.
"I was blacking out and people were sleeping with me; I didn't know then that it was rape."
Months later, she wrote a formal complaint outlining her experiences.
"I poured my heart out."
"I wrote six pages saying when I joined the military I'd slept with a few people and by this point it was over a hundred."
"I handed it in and someone said they'd read it - nothing was ever done."
After leaving the military, Woman One has struggled with her mental health, "repressing the memories" through alcohol, but she found counselling support through Salute Her.
"I am so angry about it."
"I've learned it's not right and although the world has moved on in civilian terms, it's still going on in the armed forces."
Edwards said: "Sexual violence cases need to be separate.
"All cases need to be investigated by a civilian police force and support needs to be provided by external services.
"Women need to access advocates who can be their voice."
Woman Two said she had also experienced sexual assault and harassment within the armed forces.
During training, aged 17, she was sexually assaulted by a fellow cadet who entered her room "uninvited" and got underneath her bed covers.
"He lifted my pyjama top up and made contact with my skin.
"As soon as he did that, I was swearing at him and saying 'get out', until he left.
"One hundred percent he could have overpowered me.
"It's quite frightening, thinking what he could have done."
Reporting the case to a commanding officer, Woman Two felt "disappointed" and "let down" by the way her complaint was dealt with.
"I spoke to my section commander who got very frustrated.
"I actually remember him saying, 'do you want to move sections?', as if I was the problem."
It was referred up the chain of command but she believed it was not properly dealt with.
"They basically gave me two options: I was told either he gets moved to a different location, or a formal interview."
"At the time I didn't know there were more options."
Other options included a "written report" which would not remain on the cadet's permanent record; however sexual assault cases can also lead to court martial or dismissal from the military.
"It's really disappointing because if I knew about the other choices I don't think I would have wanted him to be moved."
"I've had to live with the guilt and I worry he very likely did it again."
Also supported by Salute Her, Woman Two said not enough had changed to tackle sexual harassment.
She said: “There are channels to report things like harassment but they’re not promoted.
“Even just general behaviour, so sexualised jokes are a big thing in the military but when they become directed towards you it can be very isolating.
“I realise change can be slow, but if no-one’s giving it the momentum that it desperately needs then of course it’s going to be slow.”
The Victims Witness Care Unit (VWCU) was established in 2023 to provide support.
An MoD spokesperson said: “The unit provides independent advice for victims and witnesses of serious crimes and is recognised for providing outstanding support through a victim or survivor’s journey.”
However, Salute Her said the services put in place to support female staff could also be "isolating".
Edwards said: "A lot of women have experienced institutional betrayal.
"When they are raped or abused, when they follow the process they enter into a lose-lose situation.
"They're suffering due to their trauma and then become medically discharged from the military, so women often feel like they are punished for being the victim."
Nicole Dodds, deputy chief executive of the charity, said women can suffer "long lasting" mental health issues.
"Seventy percent of our women have been diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder from their time in service, but it's not from combat; it's actually from being sexually assaulted or raped.
This leads to suicidal ideation and sadly many of our women have attempted to take their own lives on a daily basis."
In December 2021, 19-year-old Gunner Jaysley Beck from Cumbria took her own life at Larkhill barracks in Wiltshire.
Last October, Battery Sergeant Michael Webber was jailed for six months for sexual assault and two Army officers are currently facing a court martial over the handling of the case.
The MoD said: "We are taking action to give greater confidence to those reporting criminal behaviour.
This includes stronger measures in the Armed Forces Bill to protect victims of serious and sexual offences, our Violence against Women and Girls Taskforce and our VWCU.
We encourage anyone who has experienced criminal behaviour during their time in the Armed Forces to report it to the DSCU or civilian police."