A female soldier, Jaysley-Louise Beck, 19, killed herself after an intense period of unwelcome behaviour from a superior. It was reported that a male commanding officer had subjected her to relentless sexual harassment that had caused her to end her life.
According to reports, the superior has been granted anonymity and is facing being discharged from the Army.
In an interview with BBC, the deceased mother, Leighan McCready said, “she was fed up with his behaviour, it started ruining a job she really enjoyed doing. She was always down.
“You think the easiest solution is to block him [on your phone], but you can’t just block your boss.”
McCready also said on one occassion, Beck had called her the night after another male soldier who held the rank of Warrant officer assaulted her.
“She said he put his hands between her legs and tried to grab her from around the neck. She shouted: ‘Get off me, Sir’.
“That night she slept in her car, as she was afraid if she went to bed he would have come into her room. She also told a female friend, who was on guard duty, to stay on the phone until I fall asleep and just listen. And she hears anything, just ring for help.” McCready narrated.
One of Beck’s coworkers informed army officials about the sexual allegation, which led to the offender receiving a light punishment and writing the victim an apologetic letter. Beck may not have reported subsequent harassments and assaults because she felt the punishment was too moderate.
“She was saying ‘you don’t get listened to, so what’s the point? She thought she would be seen as a female troublemaker,” McCready added.
According to an Army investigation, her employer sought a physical relationship with Ms. Beck, but she informed him that she was already involved with someone else and did not share his feelings.
The report said: “This behaviour stems from the fact that it appears he wanted a relationship with her and had developed feelings for her which were not reciprocated.
“While this behaviour ended the week before her death, it appears that it continued to affect her and had taken a significant toll on her mental resilience and well-being.
“The panel’s assessment of the evidence was that it is almost certain that this was a casual factor in her death.”
In tribute to Beck, her family raised money for charity in her memory and wrote: “Jaysley is a loving and caring person who would go above and beyond to help anyone in a less fortunate position than herself.”