Age and disability discrimination: Creeping challenges for the military

Ball, Richard

Abstract

The principle of equality, and its legal rights to non-discrimination, has had a considerable impact on all aspects of society, the military included. The latest evidence of this in the US are the repeal of DADT and the abolition of the restriction of women serving in ground combat roles, both of which are grounded in pragmatic policy decisions but also in legal and theoretical reasoning. In the UK there are two specific areas that are not covered by the Equality Act 2010 as it applies to the armed forces, namely non-discrimination on the basis of age and disability. However, the impact of EU law is starting to be felt, and the reality of reduced manpower for all three services could see a pragmatic reassessment required for the reconsideration of the restriction of age and disability discrimination as applied to the military. This paper will analyse the legal situation and consider the possibilities of the restrictions being removed in the future in the light of practical requirements.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: IUS Chicago 2013
• Start Date: Oct 25, 2013
• End Date: Oct 27, 2013
• Publication Date: Oct 26, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: discrimination, age, disability, armed forces, military, equality
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/926687
• Publisher URL: http://www.iusafs.org/IUS2013.asp
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : IUS Chicago 2013