Jaysley Beck’s death shows why women in the Armed Forces need real protection. Why can't the government agree?
Yesterday, a Coroner ruled that systematic Army failings in the handling of a sexual assault and the ‘intolerable’ sexual harassment contributed to the tragic death of Jaysley Beck, a bright and talented teenage soldier.
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Jaysley’s case has highlighted the huge challenges that many women in the armed forces face when it comes to inappropriate, sexual behaviours. This is a systemic, cultural issue.
The Coroner concluded that the Army failed to appropriately and effectively deal with Jaysley’s complaint of sexual assault. As a result, Jaysley did not have the confidence to raise a complaint when she was later subjected to intolerable sexual harassment by her Line Manager.
Other young women gave evidence at the Inquest and told the Court about their experiences of vile, degrading and frightening behaviours from other male soldiers.
The Centre for Military Justice supports service women from across all three single services. These women have experienced sexual harassment and assault during the course of their service. Most of these women describe a lack of faith in the current complaints system and often experience further victimisation when they do complain.
At every stage, these women are made to feel that the burden is on them to take steps to avoid being harassed or assaulted. Often, even when they do make a complaint of assault or harassment against a male colleague, they are told that they should consider the impact that this might have on him.
The Coroner concluded that the system for making a complaint about these kind of behaviours is ‘insufficiently robust’ and that ‘inappropriate paternalism’ should play no part in the handling of complaints in armed forces.
The Ministry of Defence must now drop its indefensible narrative that they know what is best for their people and can be trusted to handle complaints that raise the most serious allegations of bullying and discrimination competently and fairly.
Women must be able to bring their complaints of sexual harassment and sexual assault to an independent body, outside of the single services. This had been recommended in 2019 by both the Wigston Review and in 2021 by the Atherton Review, yet the Ministry of Defence continues to reject this proposal.
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Lucy Baston is a solicitor at the CMJ. She represents service women who have suffered sexual harassment and sexual assault.
The family of Jaysley Beck was represented and supported at the inquest before Assistant Coroner for Wiltshire, Nicholas Rheinberg, Emma Norton (acting in this capacity as consultant solicitor for the firm Hodge Jones & Allen) and Alison Gerry, counsel, from Doughty St Chambers, with additional advocacy, media and other support provided from Lucy Baston at the CMJ.
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