We look at the following issues:
- Young people are not adequately supported to make an informed choice about enlistment, and a sanitised or glamourised view of military life and warfare is promoted.
- The armed forces target recruitment activities at children, and are involved in education and youth organisations.
- Military environments are not suited to recruits under the age of 18, and the armed forces do not accept full duty of care obligations.
- Problems such as bullying and harassment are common in the armed forces.
- Armed forces personnel are subject to unduly restrictive terms and conditions of service.
- Too little recognition is given to the moral impact of military service and subsequent mental health problems.
Useful resources
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.
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.
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.
Armed Forces Human Rights Helpline
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.
Public poll on minimum age of armed forces recruitment
Submission to the Human Rights and the Scottish Parliament inquiry
This submission made by ForcesWatch and Quakers in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament's human rights inquiry details our concerns around the need for regulation and transparent accountability of military activities in schools, the lack of education about peace and human rights, and the continued recruitment of children into the UK armed forces.
Evidence submitted to the Armed Forces and Veterans Mental Health Inquiry
The First Ambush: Effects of army training and employment
This report from Veterans For Peace UK details how the Army's training process has a forceful impact on attitudes, health, and behaviour even before recruits are sent to war. The findings show that military training and culture combine with pre-existing issues (such as a childhood history of anti-social behaviour) to increase the risk of violence and alcohol misuse. Traumatic war experiences further exacerbate the problem.
Soldiers at 16 – The other side of the story
Army adverts don't tell you what being a soldier is really like.
