A young female soldier is thought to have killed herself because her boss in the Army kept harassing her sexually, according to a military investigation.
Nineteen-year-old gunner Jaysley Beck from the Royal Artillery was discovered deceased at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021.
A report that the BBC saw describes a time when there was a lot of bad behavior happening.
The report stated that it is highly likely this caused her death.
The report, scheduled to be released at noon on Wednesday, states that her boss consistently acted a certain way towards her for two months before she passed away.
Although this behavior stopped the week before her death, it seems that it still had a major negative impact on her mental strength and overall well-being, as mentioned in the report.
Many people send lots of messages.
In an interview with the BBC, Gunner Beck’s mother said her daughter had been feeling sad and upset because of ongoing bullying.
A date has not been set yet for the official investigation to find out how Gunner Beck died.
Description of the video or audio content.
‘I shouldn’t have been left alone with only these things. ‘
The Army investigation discovered that her boss, along with everyone else mentioned in the report, desired to have a romantic relationship with her. However, she already had a boyfriend and did not feel the same way towards her boss.
In October 2021, her boss sent her over 1,000 messages and voicemails on WhatsApp. The next month, it went up to over 3,500.
The messages were about controlling how someone behaves. He always wanted to make sure that she was alone and he made it very clear that he didn’t want her to be with anyone else.
Jaysley Beck used to see her boss as a friend and tried to understand him, but in the weeks before she died, she sent him a message saying she couldn’t handle the situation anymore. “It’s making me feel burdened. ”
The lawyer representing the family, Emma Norton, from a legal organization called the Centre for Military Justice, stated that it is important that the Army recognizes that the sexual harassment the young woman experienced before she passed away played a significant role in causing her death. I don’t know of any other situation where this has been accepted. This is obviously very worrying for the family.
Two years ago, a group of government officials discovered that women in the military who experience harassment and severe sexual assault, along with other crimes, are not receiving fair treatment from the military complaints system, which is poorly equipped to handle their cases.
The Army investigation into Gunner Beck’s death reveals that her boss was in charge of giving out tasks and making sure everyone was working together. She was worried that he was following her using her phone.
The week before she died, she decided to leave the hotel where they were both staying for a work trip because of his actions. She was upset and called her dad for help. Her friend found her shaking and trembling, as stated in the investigation.
She sent a message to her boss saying that she felt stuck because of what he did. Her family was concerned about her. She said she cried a lot and also mentioned that it is difficult for her to handle everything going on.
Gunner Beck joined the Army at 16 years old and was happy to be a soldier.
Her family from Oxen Park in Cumbria have seen her boss’s messages. They told the BBC that the teenager, who is kind and generous, didn’t mean to upset her boss.
Gunner Beck’s mom, Leighann McCready, says: “You might think it’s easiest to stop communication with him, but you can’t simply cut off contact with your boss. ”
Ms McCready, Jaysley’s dad, Anthony, and her older sister Emilli, were always talking to her and could see how her boss’s unwanted attention affected her.
“Ms McCready said that she was always sad. ” She was tired and annoyed by how he was acting. It began to mess up a job that she really liked doing.
‘Stop touching me, Sir’
Ms McCready told her daughter that she should tell someone about her boss’s actions, but her daughter didn’t want to because of how the Army handled her previous complaint of being sexually assaulted by another person in her senior position a few months ago. This happened at night in a bar at a military training center. The report explains that Gunner Beck left the bar and went to hide in the toilets.
Ms McCready vividly remembers when her daughter called the next morning and told her what had happened. She said that someone tried to touch her private parts and tried to choke her. She yelled: ‘Leave me alone, Sir’.
That night she slept inside her car. She was scared that if she went to bed, he would enter her room. She called her friend who was working overnight and asked them to stay on the phone with her until she fell asleep. She wanted them to listen and call for help if they heard anything concerning.
Gunner Beck chose not to tell people about what happened to her, but someone else did.
According to the report, the people in charge recognized the incident as important, but it seems like the proper way of reporting it was not followed. As a result, the advice on discipline was given based on a story that left out important details by mistake.
The man was punished slightly and told to write a letter saying sorry to the teenager. It recognizes that this “may have made her not report other things that happened after”.
Ms McCready wants to make it clear that this was true. She thought that no one was paying attention to what she was saying, so she wondered why she was even trying to speak up. She believed that people would label her as someone who causes problems because she is a woman.
The family saw the apology letter from the warrant officer. The man who had hurt her said to Ms. Beck: “If there’s anything you need, you can always come to me. ”
Ms McCready believes the offer is terrible and thinks it would have caused her daughter problems forever.
Meaning of “vile” and “degrading”: The word “vile” means something that is extremely unpleasant, disgusting, or morally bad. It is used to describe things or people that are considered very unpleasant or awful. The word “degrading” refers to something that lowers someone’s dignity or self-worth. It is used to describe actions, behaviors, or situations that make someone feel ashamed, embarrassed, or humiliated.
The report states that Gunner Beck passed away due to family problems, including the loss of a loved one. Her family is very confused and do not accept it. Ms McCready says that she believes they are burdening her family with many tasks.
“They have said that we are somewhat responsible for our daughter’s death. ”
According to the report, Gunner Beck did not have any known mental-health problems and did not ask for help from anyone in the Army regarding his well-being.
At the investigation about her death, people gave statements about male soldiers acting inappropriately towards female colleagues at Larkhill.
The report states that many soldiers at Larkhill Garrison often behaved in a certain way. One person who saw this happen would regularly receive offensive and disrespectful comments from male soldiers.
The report states that actions were taken to address this type of behavior. These actions were included in a new set of rules for the military in November 2022.
When asked if she feels bad about her daughter’s career choice, her mom quickly says “Yes”.
She says that the military people were not understanding and caring when the family wanted to be in her room while taking her things. She says they tried but couldn’t control how her funeral should be planned.
She says every day she talks to her daughter, who brings happiness wherever she goes.
She holds her daughter’s Army hat and pants and says, “These make me feel safe and calm. ” I have these things and they remind me of good times, but it wasn’t fair for me to only have these things. I wish my daughter had come back home.
A spokesperson for the Army said, “We are thinking of and feeling sorry for Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck’s family and friends during this hard time. ” They also mentioned that it would not be right to say anything more until after the inquest.