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Concept
Military recruitment
Summary
Military recruitment refers to the activity of attracting people to, and selecting them for, military training and employment.
Women in the military by countryWomen in the militaryTransgender people and military service and Women in combat
Across the world, a large majority of recruits to state armed forces and non-state armed groups are male. The proportion of female personnel varies internationally; for example, it is approximately 3% in India, 10% in the UK, 13% in Sweden, 16% in the US, and 27% in South Africa.
While many states do not recruit women for ground close combat roles (i.e. roles which would require them to kill an opponent at close quarters), several have lifted this ban in recent years, including larger Western military powers such as France, the UK, and US.
Compared with male personnel and female civilians, female personnel face substantially higher risks of sexual harassment and sexual violence, according to British, Canadian, and US research.
Some states, including the UK, US and Canada have begun to recognise a right of transgender people to serve openly in their armed forces, although this development has met with political and cultural resistance.
State armed forces set minimum and maximum ages for recruitment. In practice, most military recruits are young adults; for example, in 2013 the average age of a United States Army soldier beginning initial training was 20.7 years.
Children in the military
Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child means a person aged under 18.
The minimum age at which children may be recruited or conscripted under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is 15. States which have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) may not conscript children at all, but may enlist children aged 16 or above provided that they are not used to participate directly in hostilities.
Historically, the use of children for military purposes has been widespread—see Children in the military—but has been in decline in the 21st century.
Official source
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