'WARRIORS' RAPE
Geneva Abdul
Wed, 4 October 2023
A 19-year-old soldier is believed to have taken her own life after being subjected to sexual harassment from her boss, according to an internal army inquiry report.
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021 after experiencing “an intense period of unwelcome behaviour”, the inquiry report said.
A redacted version of the internal review, published on Wednesday, details how Beck received more than 1,000 messages and voicemails from her boss in October 2021. In November, the number of messages increased to more than 3,500. The boss is not named in the report.
“It is almost certain this was a causal factor in her death,” the report said. In the weeks before her death, she messaged her boss to say: “I can’t handle it any more. It’s weighing me down.”
Speaking to the BBC, Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, said: “You’d think the easiest solution is block him, you can’t just block your boss.” She said her daughter was reluctant to report the behaviour because of how a previous sexual assault complaint was dealt with by the army.
McCready said: “She was always down, she was fed up of his behaviour, [and] it just started ruining a job that she really enjoyed doing.”
The report said Beck’s death came “out of the blue” to her chain of command. It also said two relationships, an “unhealthy approach to alcohol”, and family issues including a bereavement may also have contributed to Beck’s death.
Her mother rejected this, telling the BBC: “I think they are trying to put a lot on her family. They have said that we are partly to blame for the passing of our daughter.”
An inquest date to determine how the 19-year-old died has yet to be set. Beck, who joined the army at 16, had no diagnosed mental health conditions, according to the report. Britain is one of 19 countries that recruit 16-year-olds into the army.
The report found significant evidence of inappropriate sexual behaviour from male soldiers towards female soldiers at the Larkhill garrison, with one witness describing routinely receiving comments from male soldiers that were “vile” and “degrading”, according to the Centre for Military Justice (CMJ), which is representing the family.
The case raises wider questions surrounding the “culture of institutional misogyny” at army barracks that have come under intense scrutiny in recent years. In 2021, a parliamentary report said the UK military was failing to protect female recruits. It revealed nearly two-thirds of women in the armed forces had experienced bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination during their career – which later resulted in an overhaul by the MoD into how complaints were handled.
In July 2021, it was reported that Beck had been sexually assaulted by a warrant officer at a social event. After the incident, which was reported by a colleague, Beck hid in the bathroom and later spent the remainder of the evening in her car, according to the report.
The CMJ said the incident was reported but not referred to police, and there “appears to have been no meaningful investigation”. The chain of command “took the incident seriously”, but the report added: “Evidence suggests that the correct reporting process was not followed.”
In a letter of apology to Beck after the incident, the perpetrator wrote his “door will always be open”, according to the CMJ. The report acknowledged that how the incident was handled may have contributed to a loss of confidence in Beck reporting future incidents.
“This is something my daughter will have to carry, or would have had to carry, for the rest of her life,” said McCready.
Beck told her family of the sexual assault and “a sustained campaign” of controlling sexual harassment from her boss in the months before she died, said the family’s lawyer, Emma Norton.
Norton said: “It is hugely significant that the army has admitted that this sexual harassment was a causative factor in her death. If there is one silver lining in this awful situation it is the fact that the army has accepted that at this relatively early stage. I don’t think that would have happened a few years ago.”
An army spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck’s family and friends at this difficult time. The circumstances surrounding Gunner Beck’s death, including the cause, are still to be determined by the coroner. It would be inappropriate to comment further until the coroner’s inquest has been completed.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
Geneva Abdul
Wed, 4 October 2023
A 19-year-old soldier is believed to have taken her own life after being subjected to sexual harassment from her boss, according to an internal army inquiry report.
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021 after experiencing “an intense period of unwelcome behaviour”, the inquiry report said.
A redacted version of the internal review, published on Wednesday, details how Beck received more than 1,000 messages and voicemails from her boss in October 2021. In November, the number of messages increased to more than 3,500. The boss is not named in the report.
“It is almost certain this was a causal factor in her death,” the report said. In the weeks before her death, she messaged her boss to say: “I can’t handle it any more. It’s weighing me down.”
Speaking to the BBC, Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, said: “You’d think the easiest solution is block him, you can’t just block your boss.” She said her daughter was reluctant to report the behaviour because of how a previous sexual assault complaint was dealt with by the army.
McCready said: “She was always down, she was fed up of his behaviour, [and] it just started ruining a job that she really enjoyed doing.”
The report said Beck’s death came “out of the blue” to her chain of command. It also said two relationships, an “unhealthy approach to alcohol”, and family issues including a bereavement may also have contributed to Beck’s death.
Her mother rejected this, telling the BBC: “I think they are trying to put a lot on her family. They have said that we are partly to blame for the passing of our daughter.”
An inquest date to determine how the 19-year-old died has yet to be set. Beck, who joined the army at 16, had no diagnosed mental health conditions, according to the report. Britain is one of 19 countries that recruit 16-year-olds into the army.
The report found significant evidence of inappropriate sexual behaviour from male soldiers towards female soldiers at the Larkhill garrison, with one witness describing routinely receiving comments from male soldiers that were “vile” and “degrading”, according to the Centre for Military Justice (CMJ), which is representing the family.
The case raises wider questions surrounding the “culture of institutional misogyny” at army barracks that have come under intense scrutiny in recent years. In 2021, a parliamentary report said the UK military was failing to protect female recruits. It revealed nearly two-thirds of women in the armed forces had experienced bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination during their career – which later resulted in an overhaul by the MoD into how complaints were handled.
In July 2021, it was reported that Beck had been sexually assaulted by a warrant officer at a social event. After the incident, which was reported by a colleague, Beck hid in the bathroom and later spent the remainder of the evening in her car, according to the report.
The CMJ said the incident was reported but not referred to police, and there “appears to have been no meaningful investigation”. The chain of command “took the incident seriously”, but the report added: “Evidence suggests that the correct reporting process was not followed.”
In a letter of apology to Beck after the incident, the perpetrator wrote his “door will always be open”, according to the CMJ. The report acknowledged that how the incident was handled may have contributed to a loss of confidence in Beck reporting future incidents.
“This is something my daughter will have to carry, or would have had to carry, for the rest of her life,” said McCready.
Beck told her family of the sexual assault and “a sustained campaign” of controlling sexual harassment from her boss in the months before she died, said the family’s lawyer, Emma Norton.
Norton said: “It is hugely significant that the army has admitted that this sexual harassment was a causative factor in her death. If there is one silver lining in this awful situation it is the fact that the army has accepted that at this relatively early stage. I don’t think that would have happened a few years ago.”
An army spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck’s family and friends at this difficult time. The circumstances surrounding Gunner Beck’s death, including the cause, are still to be determined by the coroner. It would be inappropriate to comment further until the coroner’s inquest has been completed.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
Nine rapes at Harrogate military college reported to civilian police in 13 months
Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor
Thu, 5 October 2023
Photograph: Alamy
Nine rapes at the Harrogate military college, which trains 16- and 17-year-olds for careers in the British army, were reported to civilian police over a 13-month period to the middle of August, figures show.
Disclosed under freedom of information legislation, the figures raise questions about safeguarding at Harrogate, and why its welfare arrangements are rated as “outstanding” by Ofsted.
North Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner said that “13 sexual offences” at the Army Foundation college were reported between 22 July 2022 and 17 August 2023, including nine reports of rape, two of sexual assault and two of voyeurism.
No details were given as to whether they led to investigations or prosecutions, or the gender of the victims. It follows a string of reports of rape, abuse and harassment across the UK military, with the majority of the victims being women and girls.
This week, it emerged that a 19-year-old Royal Artillery gunner, Jaysley Beck, was believed to have killed herself at Larkhill camp, in Wiltshire, after a period of relentless sexual harassment by one of her superiors.
During 2021, there were 22 victims of sexual offences at the Harrogate college. In January 2023 one instructor, Cpl Simon Bartram, was sentenced to 20 months’ military detention, after being found guilty at court martial of sexual assault and eight counts of cruel or indecent disgraceful conduct.
David Gee, an adviser with the Child Rights International Network (Crin), which requested the latest rape figures, said he believed “on this record, Harrogate cannot be regarded as safe”. He said that no matter how the welfare arrangements were structured, difficulties were exacerbated by the young age of the recruits.
“This is not a British problem,” he said. “This is a problem all over the world when young people are recruited to the military. It is not something you can solve by imposing a zero-tolerance policy and hope it will go away.”
Britain is the only country in Europe that recruits children aged 16 and 17 to its armed forces. They are trained at Harrogate college where there are more than 1,300 recruits on site at any time. Female personnel make up 11.7% of all recruits to the armed forces.
The Ministry of Defence has long defended its recruitment policy, and one government defence minister said in May that the college’s welfare was improving. Annabel Goldie told the Lords that having learned from “earlier appalling incidents” the training camp had “introduced important changes”.
Lady Goldie highlighted that Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, rated Harrogate as “outstanding in all areas”, which reflected “the excellent standard of the provision of duty of care and welfare”. The MoD, she said, had “a zero-tolerance policy for sexual offences” and sexual relationships between recruits and trainers.
Nevertheless, Gee said: “None of Ofsted’s reports in that past 10 years has mentioned anything about recruit abuse. Whenever we send data to Ofsted and give them the sources, they say: ‘It is not relevant to our inspections.’”
A letter sent to Crin in June 2022 by Ofsted’s deputy director, Paul Joyce, said any new allegations of abuse should be directed to the police, the army and the local children’s safeguarding board.
“Ofsted does not investigate [armed] services complaints, nor do we play any part in army disciplinary processes or prosecutions,” the letter said.
Rape and other sexual offence cases can be investigated by either the civilian or military justice system. The latest statistics show the military police investigated 333 sexual offences, involving 319 female and 63 male victims, during 2022.
Two years ago, a landmark report from the defence select committee, “Women in the armed forces”, concluded that two-thirds of women in the military had experienced bullying, harassment and discrimination during their career.
Next month, MPs on the defence select committee will review progress made since the inquiry. Sarah Atherton, the Conservative MP who chaired the inquiry, said: “We now want to understand whether there has been enough change in practice over the last two years.” She called for servicewomen and recent female veterans to come forward and give evidence.
The army said it was committed to rooting out all forms of inappropriate behaviour. A spokesperson added: “We have very strong safeguarding mechanisms at the Army Foundation college” and “multiple methods of accessing welfare support, including confidential support lines”.
Ofsted has been contacted for comment.
In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor
Thu, 5 October 2023
Photograph: Alamy
Nine rapes at the Harrogate military college, which trains 16- and 17-year-olds for careers in the British army, were reported to civilian police over a 13-month period to the middle of August, figures show.
Disclosed under freedom of information legislation, the figures raise questions about safeguarding at Harrogate, and why its welfare arrangements are rated as “outstanding” by Ofsted.
North Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner said that “13 sexual offences” at the Army Foundation college were reported between 22 July 2022 and 17 August 2023, including nine reports of rape, two of sexual assault and two of voyeurism.
No details were given as to whether they led to investigations or prosecutions, or the gender of the victims. It follows a string of reports of rape, abuse and harassment across the UK military, with the majority of the victims being women and girls.
This week, it emerged that a 19-year-old Royal Artillery gunner, Jaysley Beck, was believed to have killed herself at Larkhill camp, in Wiltshire, after a period of relentless sexual harassment by one of her superiors.
During 2021, there were 22 victims of sexual offences at the Harrogate college. In January 2023 one instructor, Cpl Simon Bartram, was sentenced to 20 months’ military detention, after being found guilty at court martial of sexual assault and eight counts of cruel or indecent disgraceful conduct.
David Gee, an adviser with the Child Rights International Network (Crin), which requested the latest rape figures, said he believed “on this record, Harrogate cannot be regarded as safe”. He said that no matter how the welfare arrangements were structured, difficulties were exacerbated by the young age of the recruits.
“This is not a British problem,” he said. “This is a problem all over the world when young people are recruited to the military. It is not something you can solve by imposing a zero-tolerance policy and hope it will go away.”
Britain is the only country in Europe that recruits children aged 16 and 17 to its armed forces. They are trained at Harrogate college where there are more than 1,300 recruits on site at any time. Female personnel make up 11.7% of all recruits to the armed forces.
The Ministry of Defence has long defended its recruitment policy, and one government defence minister said in May that the college’s welfare was improving. Annabel Goldie told the Lords that having learned from “earlier appalling incidents” the training camp had “introduced important changes”.
Lady Goldie highlighted that Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, rated Harrogate as “outstanding in all areas”, which reflected “the excellent standard of the provision of duty of care and welfare”. The MoD, she said, had “a zero-tolerance policy for sexual offences” and sexual relationships between recruits and trainers.
Nevertheless, Gee said: “None of Ofsted’s reports in that past 10 years has mentioned anything about recruit abuse. Whenever we send data to Ofsted and give them the sources, they say: ‘It is not relevant to our inspections.’”
A letter sent to Crin in June 2022 by Ofsted’s deputy director, Paul Joyce, said any new allegations of abuse should be directed to the police, the army and the local children’s safeguarding board.
“Ofsted does not investigate [armed] services complaints, nor do we play any part in army disciplinary processes or prosecutions,” the letter said.
Rape and other sexual offence cases can be investigated by either the civilian or military justice system. The latest statistics show the military police investigated 333 sexual offences, involving 319 female and 63 male victims, during 2022.
Two years ago, a landmark report from the defence select committee, “Women in the armed forces”, concluded that two-thirds of women in the military had experienced bullying, harassment and discrimination during their career.
Next month, MPs on the defence select committee will review progress made since the inquiry. Sarah Atherton, the Conservative MP who chaired the inquiry, said: “We now want to understand whether there has been enough change in practice over the last two years.” She called for servicewomen and recent female veterans to come forward and give evidence.
The army said it was committed to rooting out all forms of inappropriate behaviour. A spokesperson added: “We have very strong safeguarding mechanisms at the Army Foundation college” and “multiple methods of accessing welfare support, including confidential support lines”.
Ofsted has been contacted for comment.
In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
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