British young soldiers were tested for their courage by having unprotected sex with prostitutes

British soldiers in Kenya are forced to have unprotected sex with prostitutes at initiation ceremonies to prove how “brave” they are. This has raised concerns among UK Defense officials that military personnel may become infected with HIV/AIDS.

British soldiers training in Kenya have held an initiation ceremony in which young recruits are forced to have unprotected sex with prostitutes, the Mail on Sunday reports.

Senior soldiers allegedly flip a coin to determine whether a soldier will use a condom to prove how “brave” he is.

The announcements alarmed UK defense officials because of the high rate of HIV/AIDS in Kenya, where one in 20 people suffers from it.

Every year, about 10,000 British troops are sent to Kenya for live-fire exercises lasting up to eight weeks, writes the Mail on Sunday.

Upon their return, soldiers were surveyed about their use of prostitutes who hang around off base for a study that was published in the British medical journal Military Health.

One unnamed soldier told the British Ministry of Defense: “When this unit goes out on training [в учебное подразделение британской армии в Кении], they hold an initiation ceremony for all new soldiers who have not previously deployed to Kenya. The older soldiers would toss a coin: if it comes up heads, you can use a condom, if it comes up tails, you can’t.”

The report, prepared by UK Ministry of Defense medical services, said that while sexual health guidance is provided upon arrival in the East African country, the number of soldiers seeking help for underlying health conditions has increased compared with troops based in the UK.

It also turned out that a third of employees could not remember how they were given this advice, notes the Mail on Sunday.

Five percent of Kenya’s population is infected with HIV, compared with 0.2 percent in the UK.

The risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease from a prostitute not only potentially reduces the unit’s operational effectiveness, but also poses a “global reputational risk,” the report said.

Former Army intelligence officer Philip Ingram criticized military leadership over the incidents. “Sexual health is part of annual training for all service personnel,” he said. “The news that soldiers are being forced into some form of sexual initiation ceremony… where HIV rates are very high, shakes me to the core. This Once again highlights the failure of leadership and how the culture in the army remains fundamentally broken.”

The report warned of the increasing use of prostitutes near the British base in Nanyuki, Kenya, with some services even offered at hairdressers, according to a senior officer who went for a haircut.

“When the haircut was completed, he was taken to a back room and shown to several sex workers,” the report states. The barber then asked if he wanted any “extras.”

The officer said he was shocked by how suddenly events unfolded and said he spoke about the encounter to demonstrate to other soldiers the intimacy of sex workers and to advise soldiers “how to politely decline any such offers.”

A British Ministry of Defense spokesman said: “Any sexual activity that involves an abuse of power, including the purchase of sexual services, both in the UK and overseas, is prohibited. We are committed to preventing sexual exploitation in any form.”