BRITISH ARMY CORPORAL resigns due to abuse.
Kerry-Ann Knight received an apology from the Ministry of Defence, as well as a substantial payout after enduring years of “racist and sexist abuse” whilst serving as a corporal
Kerry-Ann Knight, 33, took her case to an employment tribunal
Kerry-Ann Knight, 33, was forced to resign after facing years of racist and sexist abuse
A black soldier who was the face of British Army recruitment campaigns was subjected to years of “racist and sexist abuse” while serving as a corporal, a tribunal has heard.
Kerry-Ann Knight has since received an apology from the Ministry of Defence, as well as a substantial payout after she was left feeling that the army was “institutionally racist”. The former corporal, who featured on posters for a £1.5 million military recruitment campaign, told an employment tribunal that colleagues directed slurs about slavery towards her, including references to “lynching” or “tarring and feathering” her.
Ms Knight also claimed that her colleagues had praised Hitler, and repeatedly targeted offensive racial language and stereotypes around her, such as shouting “watermelon” when she walked into a room. The 33-year-old was even subject to sexist abuse and harassment, including being shown pictures of a colleague’s penis at a work event, and being asked to comment on it.
Kerry-Ann Knight was left feeling that the Army was institutionally racist
Kerry-Ann Knight was left feeling that the Army was institutionally racist
The army’s director personnel Major General, Sam Humphris, admitted Ms Knight had experienced “racist and sexist harassment” in an apology letter. She had been working as an instructor at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, before the abuse forced her to resign.
Ms Knight, who says the abuse began early in her career in 2012, was initially "excited" to join, but now says she would "never" encourage a women of colour to do the same. She told the BBC: "I’d never encourage any woman, especially of colour, to join, because it’s not going to benefit your life in the long run.”
She added it was made clear by several of her male instructors that she was not welcome from the very start. "They just thought they were superior to me, and they were going to make my life a living hell", she said.
When she found that her complaints were falling on deaf ears, she began secretly recording conversations with her colleagues. In one of the tapes, laughter could be heard after a white male soldier says “just [expletive] tar and feather her, it’s what they used to do in the old days”.
Her discrimination claim was taken to an employment tribunal in Leeds, but the parties settled before a final judgment was made. Ms Knight said she had been left feeling “absolutely devastated” by her treatment. She said: “I was so determined to make it work and help make the British Army a better place for women and black people, and so for everyone. But my experience eventually showed me that no matter what I did, I would never be accepted.
Ms Knight fronted a military recruitment campaign
Ms Knight fronted a military recruitment campaign
Her solicitor, Emma Norton, said: "The way the army conducted itself throughout its internal complaints process and throughout this litigation is nothing short of shameful. For the army, it was not the racists that needed to be dealt with it, it was Kerry-Ann, because she’d had the audacity to complain about racism and misogyny. It is all dreadfully familiar and shows that, in the British Army, it’s worse to accuse someone of racism than it is to be racist.”
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission – which provided funding and assistance for Ms Knight said: “As one of the UK’s largest employers, and a public authority under the Equality Act, the British Army should be a standard-bearer when it comes to protecting their employees from discrimination. Many of the most recent recruits in the army today will have joined after seeing Ms Knight’s face in a recruitment campaign. Like everyone else in the country, they have the legal right to be treated fairly regardless of who they are or what they look like.
Major General Humphris, on behalf of the British Army, said in an apology sent to Ms Knight: “As director personnel and a member of the Army Board, I sincerely apologise on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. The army accepts that you had to work in an unacceptable organisational environment where you experienced racist and sexist harassment. There was a failure within the army in not responding properly to that environment or your complaints about it. The army wishes to apologise for the treatment you received. Your loss is a matter of regret.”
The Ministry of Defence’s apology and financial settlement does not contain an admission of liability by the British Army.
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