9 rapes reported in one year at U.K. army's youth training center

London – Nine rapes, two sexual assaults, and one case of voyeurism were reported to law enforcement over roughly the past year at the U.K. institution that trains 16 and 17-year-olds for the British Army, according to the local North Yorkshire Police. The reports took place in the 13-month period between July 22, 2022, and August 17, 2023.

The Army Foundation college in Harrogate, England, had an "outstanding" rating by the U.K. education regulator, OFSTED, the highest ranking available. It is the "only junior-entry phase 1 training establishment in the British Army" and "provides basic military training and develops future leaders," OFSTED said.

In 2021, there were 22 victims of sexual offenses at the Army Foundation college, according to the U.K. government.

David Gee, an adviser with the Child Rights International Network, said the Army Foundation college in Harrogate should not be considered safe, given the number of reports of sexual misconduct there. He said the age of army recruits was one of the problems.

"This is not specifically a British problem," Gee told CBS News. "There are certain factors that mean that joining up at 16 or 17 amplifies the vulnerability of a young person relative to joining up at older ages in an institution of this kind."

The U.K. is one of only a handful of countries in the world, including the United States, that recruits children under the age of 18 into the armed services. In the U.K., recruits aren't sent to the front lines until they are 18.

Gee said female recruits in the U.K. are also much more vulnerable than male recruits.

"When you have a nine-to-one male to female ratio in the armed forces, the vulnerability of girls, when you don't have that gender parity in military training, is really increased," he said.

A 2021 parliamentary report found the U.K. military was "failing to protect" female recruits, outlining how almost two thirds experienced sexual harassment, bullying, and descrimination during their careers.

The report outlined accounts of gang rape, bullying for refusing sexual advances, and competitions among men to "bag" the women on ships or in camps.

Earlier this week, a redacted internal Army review into the death of 19-year-old Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck in December 2021 said she is believed to have taken her own life after "an intense period of unwelcome behavior" by her boss.

The review said Beck's boss, who was not named, had wanted a relationship with Beck and had sent her thousands of messages and voicemails in the months leading up to her death.

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Haley Ott

Haley Ott is an international reporter for CBS News based in London.

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