Jaysley Beck’s sister says army is ‘not safe’ for women | UK News

The sister of a 19-year-old soldier who took her own life after being sexually assaulted has said the Army is not a “safe space for women”.

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck was found dead in her barracks at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on 15 December 2021, after a Christmas party.

On Thursday, a coroner ruled the Army had contributed to Gunner Beck’s death by failing to take action after she was harassed by her line manager and sexually assaulted by another colleague.

The Army has apologised and said “significant changes” had been made, but Gunner Beck’s sister, Emilli Beck, said she wanted an independent body to “handle the most serious cases” in the future.

Ms Beck told Radio 4’s Today programme she would not recommend that women join the Army.

“I just don’t think it’s a safe space for women at this time. I think it’s scary and I certainly wouldn’t advise it,” she said.

She said her sister “never got believed” after she made a complaint against Battery Sgt Maj Michael Webber following an incident at a work social.

“It took her a lot of courage to speak up,” she said. “She trusted that the Army would have dealt with this appropriately and they just never did.”

An inquest into the death of Gunner Beck, originally from Oxen Park in Cumbria, found she was also subject to relentless harassment by her line manager, Bombadier Ryan Mason.

Ms Beck said her sister did not want to report the harassment after “she wasn’t believed the first time.”

“It’s sort of as the saying goes – once bitten, twice shy,” she said.

“She didn’t want to be seen as that girl who sort of made these accusations and nothing got done of it.”

Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg ruled the Army’s failure to take appropriate action over the “frightening” incidents “more than minimally” contributed to Gunner Beck’s death.

“I find there was a failure on behalf of the Army to take action over the harassment she was suffering from her line manager,” he concluded.

“And there was a failure on behalf of the Army to take action against the senior officer at whose hands she’d suffered a sexual assault.”

Brig Melissa Emmett, head of the Army personnel services group, has apologised to Gunner Beck’s family.

She said “significant changes” had been made within the Army, including the “introduction of clear and unequivocal policies to state that there will be zero tolerance to unacceptable sexual behaviours”.

“There is more work to do,” she said.

“It is my hope that such change will give service personnel the confidence they need to report sexual offences and inappropriate behaviours, knowing that they will be listened to.”

But Ms Beck said more needed to be done, to prevent similar things happening in the future.

“I can appreciate them talking about measures that are going to be put in place, but these measures were always there, they were just never followed,” she said.

Ms Beck believes the “culture of the Army needs to change” in order for cases of sexual assault or harassment to be investigated thoroughly in the future.

“The pain that we felt in the last three-and-a-half years is something that I would never want another family to go through,” she said.

“Female soldiers have completely lost faith in the Army.”

“Jaysley lived as her true authentic self, she was just an incredible person,” Ms Beck added.

“She brought life to everybody’s life, she was just so happy, she always stayed the same.”