risks

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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New report calls for regulation of military marketing that targets young people

A report published today (27 February 2019) critiques the armed forces’ marketing practice in selling their careers to vulnerable adolescents. This comes in the wake of the Army's controversial new 'Snowflake' recruiting campaign.

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Adverse health effects of recruiting child soldiers

This editorial in BMJ Paediatrics Open (2019, vol 3, issue 1) discusses the issues raised in the Medact report, The recruitment of children by the UK Armed Forces: a critique from health professionals, which brought together evidence highlighting the increased risk of death and injury for those recruited under the age of 18. The authors, Reem Abu-Hayyeh and Guddi Singh, contributed to the content and launch of the report Selling the military: A critical analysis of contemporary recruitment marketing in the UK by ForcesWatch and Medact.

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War School film

A film about recent militarism and the battle for the hearts and minds of young people in the UK. The film follows the stories of Ben Griffin, former SAS soldier and founder of Veterans for Peace UK, and Quaker activist Sam Walton, and features the work of ForcesWatch and partner organisations. See war.school and related learning resources.

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Sexual assault continues to plague women in the military

We look at the Lost Heroines campaign by specialist lawyers Bolt Burdon Kemp which highlights some of the issues facing women in the military, with a particular focus on sexual harassment.

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Personnel are being failed by the military justice system

We welcome Liberty's Second Rate Justice report and the launch of their new Human Rights Helpline for the UK Armed Forces.

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Notes on attending the inquest into Sean Benton’s death at Deepcut barracks

Last week the Coroner at Working Coroner’s Court delivered the findings into the circumstances of Sean Benton’s death at Deepcut Barracks in June 1995. Sean was the first of four soldiers to die there between 1995 and 2002. ForcesWatch have been monitoring the inquest; this article shares our records from the inquest and notes on the final findings. Download the full notes

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