'Stolen Valour': An international comparison
Stolen valour involves falsely claiming military service, rank or medallic recognition with the intent to deceive. It could even involve stealing someone else’s identity.
Some military imposters wear a uniform to gain attention but, in some cases, individuals have fraudulently accessed financial support from military charities, secured employment and used the impact of deployment-related illness to gain leniency during court sentencing.
There have been several recent cases of individuals fraudulently wearing military medals.
Although in the UK it is no longer an offence for individuals to wear medals or decorations that they were not awarded, there have been campaigns in the past for legislation to rectify this. Currently, only a few European countries adopt the same position as the UK.
This briefing paper provides a comparison of the legislation in force in a range of countries, detailing the laws regarding the unlawful wearing of medals and uniforms, as well as the penalty for committing such offences.
Most EU countries are included, as well as a number of other nations such as the United States.