Box 14.6 The UK Armed Forces’ Code of Social Conduct302 • The Code of Social Conduct explains the Armed Forces’ policy on personal relationships involving Service personnel. It applies to all members of the Armed Forces regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, rank or status. • In the area of personal relationships, the overriding operational imperative imposes a need for standards of social behaviour which are more demanding than those required by society at large. Such demands are equally necessary during peacetime and on operations. • Examples of behaviour which can undermine operational effectiveness include: unwelcome sexual attention in the form of physical or verbal conduct; … displays of affection which might cause offence to others; … and taking sexual advantage of subordinates. • Unacceptable social conduct requires prompt and positive action to prevent damage. • When considering possible cases of social misconduct, and in determining whether the Service has a duty to intervene in the personal lives of its personnel, Commanding Officers at every level must consider each case against the following Service Test: “Have the actions or behaviour of an individual adversely impacted or are they likely to impact on the efficiency or operational effectiveness of the Service?” 302 Training/awareness-raising Training of senior military officers is essential to eradicate any prevailing anti-homosexual attitudes and to enhance awareness of the problem among heterosexual peers. Training also reinforces the role of the chain of command in preventing and punishing cases of discrimination and mistreatment. Leaders play a critical role in enforcing proper conduct in the workplace. If lower-level leaders are convinced that active monitoring and support for non-discriminatory behaviour will be noticed and rewarded, they will be more supportive of an environment free from abuse. A non-discriminatory policy will create opportunities for all and will allow for excellent performance regardless of the sexual orientation of service personnel.303 In Sweden, a documentary film called “Ignorance, Diversity and Love” was made within the framework of the EU-sponsored project Norm-giving Diversity. The film follows an officer, Krister Fahlstedt, both at work and in his everyday life. It was conceived mainly for training and information purposes after the introduction of the Swedish 1999: 133 Act prohibiting discrimination and harassment of people at work on the basis of their sexual orientation (see Box 14.7) 302  “Armed Forces Code of Social Conduct: Policy Statement”, Ministry of Defence, London, 2000, available at <http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/Personnel/EqualityAndDiversity/ ArmedForcesCodeOfSocialConductPolicyStatement.htm>. 303  G. Herek and A. Belkin, “Sexual Orientation and Military Service: Prospects for Organizational and Individual Change in the United States”, in T.W. Snider, A.B. Adler, and C.A. Castro (eds.), Military Life: The Psychology of Serving in Peace (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2005), p. 26. 139 Handbook on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed Forces Personnel