Draft evasion

Draft evasion is any attempt to escape a government-forced legal requirement to serve in the military forces of one's nation. Sometimes draft evasion involves refusing to work with the military draft laws (formally known as conscription laws) of one's nation.

Illegal draft evasion is said to have characterized every military conflict of the 20th and 21st centuries. Such evasion is generally considered to be a criminal offense. On the other hand, there is evasion out of religious or ethical beleif called conscientious objector.

Draft Evasion Media

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  U.S. anti-Vietnam War protesters at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. A placard to the right reads "Use your head – not your draft card".

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  Anti-draft meeting held by women in New York City, 1917.

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  U.S. Secretary of War drawing the first number in the U.S. World War I draft lottery, 1917.

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  Tribunal for conscientious objectors in Britain during World War II.

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  Muhammad Ali refused induction in 1967.

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  Anti-conscription march in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 1917

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  Rock star Aviv Geffen is one of several Israeli entertainers who have encouraged draft evasion.

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  Draft registration office near Moscow. In the mid-2010s, half the Russians called up were said to be evading the draft.

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  Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War. By 2016, 70,000 draft evaders had fled Syria, and others remained undetected inside it.