risks

Centre for Military Justice

The Centre for Military Justice provide access to free, independent, expert legal advice when dealing with serious bullying, sexual harassment, gender-based violence or other forms of discrimination, including racial discrimination, and to bereaved military families needing legal support and representation when dealing with the aftermath of a service death. The helpline number is 0203 848 6820 or contact them on email.

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The British armed forces: Why raising the recruitment age would benefit everyone

A briefing (Child Soldiers International, 2019) making the case for setting 18 as the minimum age for recruitment.

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Conscription by poverty? Deprivation and army recruitment in the UK

This report from the Child Rights International Network, Conscription by poverty? Deprivation and army recruitment in the UK, states that the UK is the only country in Europe to recruit from age 16 and more soldiers are recruited at 16 than any other age.

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Facts or Anecdotes? The battle for the truth over the outcomes of military service

We look at recent reports on the levels of abuse in the armed forces and growing ackowledgement of the systemic failures in how complaints are handled.

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British army targets youngest and poorest for riskiest roles

A new report from the Child Rights International Network shows that the British army is intentionally targeting young people from deprived backgrounds for the roles carrying the greatest risks in war.

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The death and inquest of Geoff Gray

The third re-inquest in relation to the four Deepcut deaths of young soldiers has returned a verdict of suicide despite lack of proof and illustrates again the imbalance of power between the institutions of the military and the individual.

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Issues relating to Service Complaints system and the youngest armed forces personnel

In this written submission to the Defence Committee's inquiry into the work of the Service Complaints Ombudsman, we focus on how issues with the complaints system may affect the youngest serving personnel in the armed forces, particularly those under 18 years old, and recommend that the youngest members of the armed forces are considered as a distinct group in relation to the functioning of the service complaints system.

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Selling the Military films

At the launch event for our report with Medact on Selling the Military: A critical analysis of contemporary recruitment marketing in the UK, contributors and participants told us why they think this is an important issue. And a longer film of the presentation summarising the report.

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Liberty Soldier’s Rights campaign

The human rights organisation Liberty campaign on Soldier's Rights and have addressed a number of substantial concerns with the military justice system in recent years.

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Selling the military: A critical analysis of contemporary recruitment marketing in the UK

This report, written by ForcesWatch and published with the public health charity Medact,  analyses the way the armed forces market their careers to adolescents and young people, creating powerful messages that which exploit developmental vulnerabilities and social inequality, risking the health and well-being of recruits. Narratives of camaraderie and self-development also serve to promote an uncontroversial and depoliticised idea of the military more widely which promote self-fulfilment in the context of conflict.

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