Some committed suicide while others suffer

Soldiers in the British Army are bullied and harassed by their colleagues

• Most complaints of bullying are overlooked.

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• Female military personnel were subjected to bullying and discrimination.

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New reports say there are dozens of official complaints of bullying by British Army soldiers each year, but the vast majority remain unresolved.

Data disclosed by the Department of Defense, under freedom of information laws, shows that cases of bullying have increased by approximately 40% in seven years.

However, most of the complaints were disposed of, at a time when activists expressed their concerns about the flaws in the work mechanisms.

In 2015, 51 complaints were submitted, and during the past year there were 70 complaints by service members, but last year witnessed the lowest number of complaints that were fully or partially accepted, as only 14 complaints were accepted, compared to 23 complaints in 2015. In 2019, there were 75 complaints, the largest in recent years, of which only 18 were accepted.

criticism

The British military has come under fire in recent months following a series of sexual assault and bullying scandals.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace was so angry about bad behavior in the army last year that he called senior officers to his office to tell them.

Senior military leaders are trying to eradicate what some have described as a "toxic work environment" by implementing stricter rules around discipline and penalties.

However, last year, a senior officer managed to retain his rank, despite upholding a bullying complaint against him.

Shadow Defense Secretary John Healy commented on the figures, saying, "We want the best talent in our military, but such reports of bullying will only lead to some people leaving early service, or preventing people from joining." He continued, "Ministers must stop making pledges that they do not abide by, and make sure that our forces are free from bullying, harassment and discrimination."

The majority of women in the armed forces said they had been bullied, harassed and discriminated against, while a survey conducted by the Defense Subcommittee on Women in the Armed Forces in July last year found that 64% of female veterans and 58% of working women reported being bullied and harassed. and discrimination.

Serious harassment

Activists said many of the accusations of bullying were never reported.

Many soldiers "are afraid to report bullying because they fear being seen as a problem," said Emma Norton, attorney and founding director of the Center for Military Justice. It is he who determines the mechanism.

The complaints system is grinding people down, it is too complicated and stressful for the complainants.”

In this context, Joel Robinson, a talented corporal in the Cavalry Regiment, committed suicide in 2019, after his promotion was repeatedly overlooked, after a complaint was made about bullying and serious harassment by one of his superiors, and the complaint included constant verbal abuse and threats of physical harm. Robinson has raised concerns informally several times, before that.

“He was told on a number of occasions that if you complain, your career will be over,” his mother, Angela Robinson, said.

Joel, who was feeling "lonely and depressed" and struggled to deal with his father's 2016 death from cancer, hanged himself inside his barracks in March 2019. “If someone had listened to his concerns and taken them seriously, I think the outcome would have been different," says his mother. The mother added that the treatment she received from the army after her son’s death left her even more shocked. Nobody listens to me.

It really affects and increases the sadness when people don't listen to you, and no one sits down to talk to us logically, which we have shown many times.”

During the investigation, he told one of his superiors that the complaint had never taken into account the issue of promotion.

The Defense Ministry said there was no record of his complaint, although officers, in the investigation, acknowledged its existence.

Radical rethink

In another case, Revelman Matthews, 24, committed suicide in July 2020, after being told to "be a man" when he requested leave to help care for his daughter during the lockdown.

At the time, his widow, Katie Matthews, a newly qualified nurse who had quit her job to raise their five-year-old daughter, said the military needed a radical rethink of social care. When he was struggling, the army made his life very difficult.”

And in September, two soldiers were acquitted of racially abusing their Northern Irish colleague, after claiming that jokes about him being an IRA "terrorist" were just a "loud banter".

Cavalrymen Declan Coates, 22, and Maxwell Nichols, 24, admitted calling Private Scott Alexander as "Jerry Adams" (the Sinn Fein leader) and a "terrorist." Part of the culture of their unity.

Alexander told a military court that he was "frustrated" and was subjected to pranks and physical attacks, including cases of attempted strangulation.

The figures disclosed in the Freedom of Information Act include both complaints of physical and psychological bullying.

It does not include complaints alleging racist or discriminatory treatment, as they are classified separately.

"We do not tolerate any form of bullying or harassment, and while recent improvements to reporting mechanisms may be responsible for the increase in complaints registered, we view each complaint as critical," a Defense Department spokesperson said.

• A survey conducted by the Defense Subcommittee in July last year showed that 64% of female combatants and 58% of working women reported being subjected to bullying and discrimination.

• Two soldiers were acquitted of racist abuse of their Northern Irish colleague, after they claimed that jokes about him being an IRA "terrorist" were just a "loud joke".

• 40% increase in cases of bullying within seven years.

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