PRESS RELEASE
The family and friends of Jaysley Beck are doing a skydive to raise money for charity on Saturday 30 August at Skydive Northwest at Cark Airfield between 930am and 230pm.
An inquest into Jaysley’s death concluded in February 2025 that the Army’s failings in the handling of Jaysley’s report of sexual assault and in failing to respond to the sexual harassment she was suffering contributed to her death; and the Army accepted publicly that it had failed Jaysley very badly.
During the inquest, hundreds of current and former service women and men posted on social media about their experiences of sexualised behaviours, bullying and assault during service. Many young women spoke about the additional burden they carried in the military – not to place themselves in harm’s way, not to drink too much, not to take a joke badly, not to upset a male colleague by rejecting his advances, or by calling out his behaviours, being told to think about the impact on his career and family if they should report him, and all the while describing a lack of faith in the systems for reporting or raising a complaint, and then being victimised if they do complain.
After the inquest, the MoD finally announced that it would bring in a new system for the investigation of serious complaints like sexual harassment, that would be independent of the single services themselves. The family continues to watch this space and calls upon the MoD to announce the details of the new scheme very soon, so that those who are currently serving may get access to a complaints process in which they can have trust and confidence.
The skydive however is about celebrating Jaysley’s life, encouraging anyone affected by the kinds of experiences Jaysley was suffering to reach out for help, and to raise funds for the Centre for Military Justice, the charity that has supported the family since shortly after Jaysley died and continues to do so, and which provides support and advice to people in the armed forces that have experienced sexual harassment, assault or other abuse, and other bereaved families.
Leighann McCready, Jaysley’s Mum, said: ‘Jaysley’s family and friends are doing this to remember and celebrate Jaysley’s wonderful life and in the hope that her story will reach others who may be carrying their story alone. We want to encourage people in crisis to reach out and understand that there are people out here who can help. Jaysley would be proud of us. We are all carrying something, let’s carry it together’.
Emma Norton, Director of the CMJ, said: ‘That so many people, including some young veterans, are prepared to do such a terrifying thing to raise funds for us is absolutely fantastic as well as humbling! We are completely in awe of them all – especially this wonderful family – and will be there to cheer them on (safely from the ground). Our services are specialist, unique but sadly much needed and we are hugely grateful for this incredible support.’
Donations can be made via this JustGiving page, here.
Postscript:
The skydive went ahead and was covered by local press, here:
https://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/25444190.family-take-skydive-raise-money-memory-jaysley-beck/
Due to bad weather some of the skydivers could not fly, and are going up again on October 12th – so the fundraiser is still open for anyone who would like to contribute!