Posts tagged Military enlistment

The Army’s training establishments are failing children

The British Army has quietly published the findings of its own inquiry into how its training establishments handle complaints of unacceptable behaviour. These findings cover the Army Foundation College (AFC) in Harrogate, where around 1,500 children aged 16 and 17 are in training at any one time. According to its report, AFC’s safeguarding policy was 'very poorly’ implemented, its oversight was ‘ineffective’ and the recommendations of two decades’ worth of previous inquiries had not been embedded.

Read, EnglishChild Rights International Network8 September 2026Military enlistment, Minimum ages, Armed conflictComment

Children in uniform: A decade of abuse at the Army Foundation College

Since 2014 British army trainees aged under 18 at the Army Foundation College (AFC) in Harrogate have suffered an ingrained culture of abuse by instructors, as well as endemic bullying among recruits themselves. CRIN’s new chronological report highlights every known account of abuse at AFC between 2014 and 2024 - drawing on official data, national media reports, court judgments and the testimonies of former recruits and their parents.

Read, EnglishChild Rights International Network15 November 2024Military enlistment, Minimum ages, Armed conflict Comments

British military: Adolescent veterans three times as likely to take their own lives

Our new report reveals that veterans aged 16-19 have been three times as likely as same-age civilians from socially deprived backgrounds to end their lives. We look at why early enlistment heightens risk of mental ill-health.

Read, EnglishDaniela Kazuko Muenzel31 August 2023Military enlistment, Minimum ages, Armed conflict

UN calls on UK to immediately halt discrimination of children in counter terrorism measures

Recognising the disproportionate impact of the UK government’s Prevent strategy on how Muslim children and children of Asian ethnicity are able to access their civil and political rights, the The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child have called for an immediate end to the targeting of specific groups of children by counter-terrorism measures.

Read, EnglishDaniela Kazuko Muenzel26 June 2023Military enlistment, Minimum ages, Armed conflictComment

British military should raise recruitment age to 18, says UN

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on the UK government to raise the minimum age of military recruitment from 16 to 18 and to address numerous complaints of the sexual assault, rape and abuse of young recruits.

Read, EnglishDaniela Kazuko Muenzel13 June 2023Military enlistmentComment

Abuse and sexual assault of children in British armed forces training exposed

A story published by Vice exposes the scale of bullying, abuse and sexual assault in British armed forces training, with the youngest recruits, and especially young women, some of the worst impacted. One of the veterans speaking out in the article is Joe, who joined the Army Foundation College in 2013 aged 16. Read his full story here. [Content warning: descriptions of abuse and sexual assault].

Read, EnglishCharlotte Cooper21 July 2022Military enlistment Comments

Parents of under-18 recruits speak out about abuse at army training centre

Three parents have today spoken out about the treatment their children experienced as recruits at the Army Foundation College. CRIN has written an open letter to Ofsted, challenging the College’s ‘Outstanding’ grade in the face of abuse allegations.

Read, EnglishCharlotte Cooper18 November 2021Military enlistmentComment

Girls in the UK armed forces suffer rise in sexual violence

New data obtained by CRIN reveals a sharp increase in reports of sexual violence against girls in the UK armed forces.

Read, EnglishCharlotte Cooper18 October 2021Military enlistment Comment

Animated poem about the military recruitment of young people

A creative response fusing poetry, animation and sound, to encourage critical thinking about the military recruitment of young people in relation to human rights. Should the armed forces recruit children under the age of 18? You decide...

Watch, EnglishCharlotte Cooper24 June 2021Military enlistment, Minimum agesComment

Rights groups call on the UK government to end armed forces recruitment of children

Twenty major children’s and human rights organisations have written to the UK government today, calling for an end to the recruitment of children by the UK armed forces.

Read, EnglishCharlotte Cooper23 June 2021Military enlistmentComment

PRESS RELEASE: British army targets youngest and poorest for riskiest roles

The British army is intentionally targeting young people from deprived backgrounds for the roles carrying the greatest risks in war. This new report examines the targeting of these children and the effects of this practice on the 16 and 17 year-olds who are recruited.

Read, EnglishMaria Than22 August 2019Military enlistment, Armed conflictComment

PRESS RELEASE: Campaign against UK’s enlistment of children to be continued by CRIN

The UK is the only major military power and the only State in Europe to enlist 16-year-olds into its armed forces. Following the closure of Child Soldiers International, the campaign to raise the UK’s military enlistment age to 18 will move to the Child Rights International Network (CRIN).

Read, EnglishMaria Than5 June 2019CRIN Diaries, Military enlistment, Armed conflictComment

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