British army chief Sir Roly Walker says manosphere is fuelling misogyny in the military after Jaysley Beck death

The British army chief has warned that the “manosphere” is making it harder to stop misogyny and sexual harassment within the military.

Chief of the army General Sir Roly Walker told MPs on the House of Commons defense select committee on Tuesday that “deepening rifts among young people”, “accelerated through social media”, were also contributing factors.

This, he said, made it even more difficult to ensure the safety of women serving in the armed forces.

Sir Roly’s appearance before the committee followed an investigation in 2025 that found the army failed to act after Gunner Jaysley Beck was sexually assaulted by a superior in the months leading up to his death by suicide.

Asked by MPs why sexual harassment in the armed forces was still as common as it was five years ago, Sir Roly said: “My personal view is that because of trends in society it is getting harder before it gets easier.

“The level of misogyny, the level of vindictive behavior and belief systems, and the tension in wider society are all things that we have to accept as the environment we find attractive.

“I know very well what’s going on in things like the manosphere and the feeling of a widening gap among young people, all of which is playing out and accelerating through social media.

“A lot of that generation is coming into the armed forces.”

During the committee hearing, Labor MP Emma Lewell said there had been 122 investigations into sexual offenses against under-18s at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, between 2021 and 2024. 80 of these were sexual assaults.

Additionally, Ms Lewell said North Yorkshire Council had received 89 safeguarding notices relating to university staff in the last five years.

Army Foundation College is the only military training facility for new recruits to the British Army aged 16 to 17.5 years.

Sir Roly said he was not surprised that figures for sexual harassment had not fallen despite a more focused approach within the military, and said there was a need to recognize the difficulties young people face when they join the military.

Sir Roly said: “It is no surprise to me that we see the greatest correlation between the level of sexualisation of young people in society, the level of exposure to drugs, booze, alcohol and violence in wider society, when we take 10,000 civilians, generally aged between 17 and a half and 20, and train them to be soldiers, in the first weeks and months of bringing them into our organisation, behavior that is at odds with our values ​​and standards.

“People turn to the armed forces because they want to be something different and in my case it takes some time to transform them from being a civilian to a soldier and it is a journey.

“It’s not a cliff edge where you walk in the door and suddenly you’re a different person.

“These need to be learned behaviors and practiced, and guardrails are there to do that and do what’s best for our people, so they can do what’s best for the nation.”

The Atherton Report, published in July 2021, found that the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the armed forces were failing to protect female personnel.

On Tuesday, Sir Roly, along with veterans and public affairs minister Louise Sandher-Jones, first sea lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, chief of the air staff Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth and Sam des Forges, the Ministry of Defence’s conduct, equality and justice director, faced questions about steps taken since the report was published.

MPs asked them about the mechanisms they had put in place to implement cultural change within services.

A Royal Navy commander has said his forces are vulnerable to “toxic” leadership because of the way they assess potential leaders.

Sir Gwyn said: “We are very vulnerable to toxic leadership within our system and it is very difficult to identify individuals who can create the environment we truly want.

“Traditionally, when we look at our leaders, we tend to evaluate the outcomes they manage to create. We’re not very good at evaluating how they got there in the first place.

“This is really important because I think it is leadership at all levels that can implement policies and create the environment for teams to thrive.

“Unless we can elect the right leaders at all levels of the armed forces, we cannot accelerate the cultural change we are trying to create.”

Sir Gwyn said the navy was running a trial of a new assessment model in the autumn, which highlighted some individuals who might do well under the current system but could actually have a negative impact on their people.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress or finding it difficult to cope, you can speak to Samaritans confidentially on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org or visit . Samaritans Website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are a US resident and you or someone you know needs mental health help right now, call or text 988 or visit: 988lifeline.org To access online chat on the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis helpline available to anyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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