The Royal Artillery Larkhill Camp hosted 19-year-old Gunner Jaysley Beck at her workplace when she passed away in December 2021.
The narrative described more than personal difficulties because it exposed serious harassment occurring inside military bases.
During her Larkhill employment period Jaysley Beck faced severe workplace harassment by supervisor Bombardier Ryan Mason who sent 3600 texts to her in November alone.
He sent her huge amounts of texts between loving declarations and demanding check-ins about her location.
On July 2021 Beck experienced physical hold by Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber during a professional event because she attempted to kiss him.
Her vulnerability increased even more because of this traumatic encounter.
The military chain of command made getting help against her harassment very challenging for Beck despite her distressing situation.
She knew she could face reprisals from senior officer who might retaliate for reporting problems.
Webber received a small punishment while the team needed to write an apology yet the discipline did not match the extreme problem the victim reported.
Beck’s family members and mother Leighann McCready explained that the army’s problems made Jaysley feel powerless to report the misconduct sooner.
Prior reports of s3xual abuse within the army failed to receive proper attention allowing a suppressive environment to develop for assaults victims.
The situation became heavier to handle because of her troubles with family and her secret partnership with an upper-ranking NCO.
To change internal problems with s3xual harassment the British Army adopted new rules during November 2022. Beck and others were not able to benefit from these new programs at the army because they were implemented too late.
Her death made people discuss if the existing defense programs and military actions were enough to keep soldiers safe.
This story shows us the differences in conflicts people face within their military units.
Jaysley Beck’s death demands that military command review how they exercise power and handle reporting and support systems to protect their personnel.
Feature Image credit: Credit: (PA)