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15
Mar
Ex-Harrogate Army Foundation College recruit – and friend of Jaysley Beck – believes nothing will change
This article is the first of a two-part series. Tomorrow, we will be publishing a story on Claire and Jaysley's friendship, as well as the factors that contributed to Jaysley's death.
It has been nearly a month since Jaysley Beck’s inquest concluded.
A coroner found the army "more than minimally" contributed to Jaysley's death after failing to look into a complaint made against a bombadier who subjected her to "intolerable harassment over a sustained period".
The state also failed Jaysley, the coroner stated, as several senior officers failed to follow correct procedures after Jaysley reported a sexual assault.
She was just 19 when she was found dead at her barracks in Wiltshire.
The Stray Ferret spoke to Jaysley’s friend in the aftermath, who we’re calling Claire to protect her identity, who expressed an immense pessimism despite the case attracting national media attention.
Claire recounts the tragic loss of her friend, yet she was incredibly contained and articulate when speaking to the Stray Ferret.
Claire joined Harrogate Army Foundation College, the only basic junior training site in the British Army for recruits under the age of 18, when she 16. It was there she met Jaysley.
Her views on the military and its treatment of women are strong and unwavering. But even with allegations of sexual assault and a culture of harassment in the armed forces coming to the surface, Claire said she feels little will ever be done to ensure women and girls feel safe in the military.
She told the Stray Ferret:
Sexual harassment is 100% a systemic problem in the army. 100%. Men don’t get taught proper manners towards women. I mean, guys don’t get taught that anyway, but it’s heightened in the army.
Most men can’t control themselves. It’s not a safe environment and it’s not a nice way to be treated. If you’re a woman and you get promoted in the army, you automatically get told: “you must have slept with someone to get there”. It doesn’t matter how hard you work to get a promotion.
Claire’s time at Harrogate AFC
After missing out on a spot at sixth form, Claire decided she wanted to join the army.
She told the Stray Ferret her parents didn’t even know she had applied, and when she attended an in-person interview, she told the college her grandmother was her legal guardian.
“They didn’t even check”, Claire claims.
She describes her experience at Harrogate AFC as an "emotional rollercoaster", citing good days and bad days.
The Stray Ferret asked her if she experienced misogny at the college. She said:
I would actually say misogyny was the one thing I didn’t have to deal with at Harrogate. It happened – I would never say it didn’t happen because it did – but it wasn’t something that happened to me personally.
Claire attributes this to having a female sergeant. She said the sergeant “would not stand for anything like that” and felt her battery were “wrapped in bubble wrap”.
The Stray Ferret last year reported on allegations made by a former recruit against the college.
Lach (pseudonym) alleged a culture of violence and hostility, and claimed one recruit even tried to take his own life on exercise due to incessant bullying – claims that could not have been further from observations made in a glowing Oftsed report released at the time.
We asked Claire if she felt welfare provisions were sufficient at Harrogate, or if she agrees with Lach. She said:
I would probably agree. It isn’t this amazingly safe place for you to go with all your problems, but I never actually had a reason to go, so it’s a little difficult to answer.
Claire certainly didn't rave about her time at the college, but she told the Stray Ferret she enjoyed it on the whole.
However, the same can't be said for her experience at a Barracks near Portsmouth, where she was stationed after she left Harrogate.
Claire feels misogyny is encouraged among boys and men in the armed forces, and she experienced the gender divide first-hand.
She told the Stray Ferret:
My bombardier literally screamed in my face saying he ‘doesn’t believe women belong in the army’. He was literally my training instructor – my direct line manager – and he’s telling me I don’t belong there.
I’ve done the same fitness tests as you have, I’ve passed the same…like…everything. I’ve done everything you have done to be here, so why don’t I belong here?
Jaysley Beck. Credit: Centre for Military Justice
Sexual assault allegation
Claire told the Stray Ferret she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a man, who she believed was her friend, at her base near Portsmouth.
We’d had a boxing night. This guy that I was really good mates with lived on my corridor. I never locked my room; I know that sounds bizarre, but no one did. I never had any reason to.
I’d got into bed that night – I’d been drinking so I slept in my dressing gown. This guy literally walked in, took all his clothes off and tried to climb into bed with me. What’s worse is that this guy has a girlfriend.
Everything people say about military men is true. I was based at Portsmouth at the time…they didn’t care.
The alleged perpetrator messaged Claire the following day saying he was “sorry about last night”.
When Claire asked him if he understood what he did was wrong, he replied: “I don’t know what you’re talking about” with a winking emoji.
It was only when another female in Claire's battery spotted bruising on her legs – caused by the alleged assault – that she reported what had happened.
The man faced court martial but the case was swiftly dropped.
What needs to change?
Claire left the army in 2023 following the alleged assault.
In 2023, a Freedom of Information Request response from North Yorkshire Police revealed nine allegations of rape, two allegations of sexual assault and two allegations of voyeurism were reported at Harrogate AFC between July 2022 and August 2023.
The Stray Ferret asked Claire what needs to change to ensure women feel safe in the military.
Without hesistation, Claire told us:
Men’s behaviour.
Women aren’t forbidden fruit; men just want to take everything from women – they don’t understand boundaries. There needs to be boundaries. It’s society as a whole.
I feel like I could literally walk into Parliament and scream [about misogyny] and people would still just say: ‘we’re trying’. That’s it – it’s so frustrating.
We also asked Claire what she would say to young girls and women looking to join the forces. She said:
Do it - just be better than the guys. Run faster than them, lift heavier than them.
I would never turn around and tell someone not to join the army. I wouldn't recommend it to men or women, but if you’re going to join, you may as well smash it.
Jaysley Beck. Credit: Centre for Military Justice
Ministry of Defence response
For context, the Stray Ferret has approached the Ministry of Defence (MoD) about visiting Harrogate Army Foundation College multiple times.
After publishing Lach’s account last year, a reliable source told us the college can a life-changingly positive experience for so many recruits. They wanted us to speak to some of those recruits, as well as see what life is like behind the Pennypot Lane gates.
The MoD initially agreed to this and set a date for the Stray Ferret to visit the college and speak to some of the recruits.
We were later told the visit had been cancelled and we had "not been approved".
The college said it had "never had a journalist-based visit", yet The Sun visited the AFC in 2018 and published an inside account of what happens at the college. The Stray Ferret has contacted the MoD about this on several occasions, but the prospect of a college visit has not been mooted since.
Nonetheless, the Stray Ferret put Claire's allegations to the MoD. We asked what it says in response to claims of sexual harassment and misogyny being systemic problems in the armed forces.
We also asked for a response to claims that women are assumed to have slept with someone if they get a promotion, what steps - if any - have been taken to ensure the safety of women and girls during a national emergency, and what it says to those who suggest misogyny is culturally engrained in the armed forces.
A spokesperson said:
There is no place for bullying, harassment or discrimination in the military. This Government is totally committed to making the reforms that are needed to stamp out inappropriate behaviour and hold people to account.
Some important changes have been introduced, including a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment, establishing the Victim Witness Care Unit, and powerful sanctions to deal with unacceptable behaviour. But we recognise there is much more to do.
Our Government is creating the first ever Armed Forces Commissioner - a new independent champion with the power to investigate these matters - and Minister Al Carns will lead a fresh programme of work to give this issue the proper attention and focus it deserves.
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