The UK is the only country in Europe that recruits 16 year olds into the armed forces and currently one quarter of British Army recruits are under 18. Much of our early work focused on campaigning to raise the minimum age of recruitment to 18 years.
Concerns about the way that young people are not supported to make an informed choice about enlistment – and the consequences of this – were at the heart of our decision to set up ForcesWatch. The armed forces target recruitment activities at children and teenagers, and are involved in the education system and youth organisations and visible in many online and gaming platforms. Military life is promoted in a sanitised and glamourised way, without concern for the risks and ethical questions it poses.
Research over the last 15 years has indicated again and again that military environments are not suitable for those under the age of 18. Even though personnel are not deployed until they are adults, they face significant risks during training. Many drop out before completing training or after very short careers, and often face further difficulties. Youth and pre-existing vulnerabilities can make the impact much greater than for older recruits. They, and all armed forces personnel, face restrictive terms and conditions of service. Military institutions are not adequately accountable in relation to their duty of care for individuals within them, and there are high levels of bullying, harassment and assault. The military justice system often exacerbates the harmful impact and the limited reforms that have been implemented have yet to address the scale of the problem.
We continue to monitor recruitment practices – including military marketing – and the wider politics and culture around recruitment to the armed forces.
We support the work of partner organisations to highlight concerns and risks, and to ask questions about the ethics of armed forces recruitment practices and the moral impact of military service.
Child Rights International Network (CRIN) are leading the campaign to raise the age of recruitment into the UK armed forces. You can find their briefings, reports and other materials here.
If you are thinking of joining the armed forces – or you know someone who is – Before You Sign Up is a valuable resource for information and questions. See more resources here.
Useful resources
One Step Forward: The case for ending recruitment of minors by the British armed forces
This report published by Child Soldiers International and ForcesWatch outlines the numerous ethical and legal concerns related to rhe recruitment of under-18s, including the disproportionately high level of risk they face and long-term consequences for their employability, as well as detailing how much more it costs than recruiting only adults.
Informed Choice? Armed forces recruitment practice in the United Kingdom
An independent report by David Gee, published in 2007, highlighting the risks posed to young people through joining the military, how young people from disadvantaged communities are targeted, how information available to potential recruits is often misleading and how the terms of service are complicated, confusing and severely restricting. The research found that a large proportion join for negative reasons, including the lack of civilian career options.
