Over 60% of women in German military are sexually harassed, study finds

More than 60% of women serving in Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr, have experienced sexual misconduct ranging from lewd remarks to physical harassment, according to a new study presented by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The study set out to measure the true extent of unreported cases. In an anonymous online survey, respondents were able to answer 41 detailed questions. The results paint a shocking picture. “The extent of sexualised misconduct far exceeds the known reporting figures,” Pistorius said in a statement after presenting the report. Fewer than a third of cases were reported. “The study shows that the extent of sexualised misconduct is 3 to 5 times higher than the reported cases,” added Inspector General Carsten Breuer, Germany’s most senior military officer. The results confirm that sexual violence and harassment are a systemic problem within the Bundeswehr. Industry representatives fear the report could deter women from applying to join. “Respect for human dignity is our highest constitutional principle. Alongside mutual respect, collegiality, comradeship and responsible leadership, it is one of the core values of our Bundeswehr,” Pistorius writes in a foreword to the armed forces’ action plan against sexualised misconduct. “Sexualised violence and sexualised misconduct are incompatible with this value base and have no place in the Bundeswehr,” he continued. The defence minister expects all members of the armed forces to treat one another with respect. Four levels of sexual violence in the Bundeswehr Of the soldiers who answered the questionnaire, 4,000 said they had been subjected to sexual harassment during their service. Extrapolated, this corresponds to more than 60% of soldiers. “Those particularly often affected, which is no surprise either, are young women in the lower rank groups,” Pistorius said in a statement. Among men, non-heterosexual soldiers are disproportionately affected. “Perpetrators are overwhelmingly men,” the defence minister said. The survey used a four-level system. In the first category, respondents could indicate whether they had been subjected to sexualised remarks or lewd comments. Almost 40% of servicewomen and 16% of servicemen surveyed reported such experiences. Fifteen percent said they had been harassed with images taken against their will or altered using artificial intelligence. Nine percent of servicewomen and 3% of servicemen said they had been physically assaulted, while 2% of both women and men said they had experienced outright sexual violence in the Bundeswehr. It remains unclear whether the real figures are even higher than those found by the study. Around a third of servicewomen and servicemen also said they had not reported sexual misconduct because they did not trust their superiors or doubted they would carry out a serious investigation. Pistorius presents action plan Pistorius has made clear on several occasions that he has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual misconduct. His words are now to be followed by an action plan. According to the Bundeswehr, the plan rests on three pillars. The first is prevention. “Dealing with sexualised misconduct will become a mandatory part of qualification programmes in the Bundeswehr,” the armed forces said of the action plan. “Sexualised misconduct will become a topic in training at all levels from the very beginning,” Breuer said in a statement when presenting the study’s findings. The second pillar is making investigations more professional, with clear points of contact, reporting lines and procedures. Disciplinary punishments are also to be announced publicly to a soldier’s unit, a sanction known as “announcement before the troops”. This transparency is intended to strengthen the confidence of those affected and to act as a deterrent within the ranks. Pistorius said there was not only a lack of knowledge about reporting channels, but also a lack of trust in them. For him, this also means tackling misconduct consistently. “Anyone who is not a role model, even tolerates misconduct or does not deal with it consistently, will no longer hold a leadership position.” Finally, the action plan addresses support for those affected. Among the options being discussed is an anonymous reporting point, so that people considering whether to come forward no longer have to rely on trusting a superior. At the end of October, Breuer set up a hotline at short notice. Under the name “HELP”, victims of sexual harassment can report incidents and receive counselling. According to Pistorius, the letters stand for the German words for support, initial counselling, guidance and prevention support. The service currently runs from 8am to 6pm, but it is to be available 24 hours a day in future. Those affected are also to receive psychosocial support during investigations. Pistorius set out his aim: “Every person in our Bundeswehr must be able to rely on respect, protection and fair treatment.” Breuer added: “Only those who have this security and this trust can be ready for deployment.” Politicians call for changes Politicians, particularly from the Greens, have repeatedly called for an external body. There must be an “external reporting office” outside the units, so that servicewomen would not have to report such incidents only to their superiors, said Sara Nanni, security policy spokesperson for the Greens. She was speaking to public broadcaster ZDF’s Morgenmagazin programme before the figures were published. “I believe that very few women can get through a week without hearing a remark that is also a form of sexualised verbal violence,” said Nanni, who sits on the defence committee of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament. Thomas Erndl, defence policy spokesperson for the conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary group, known as the Union, said on Tuesday: “Anyone who humiliates female or male comrades, violates their dignity or denies women the right to serve as equals in the Bundeswehr fundamentally violates soldiers’ self-image and the values of Innere Führung.” Innere Führung is the Bundeswehr’s guiding principle that soldiers are “citizens in uniform” bound by democratic values. Erndl welcomed the planned intervention office, which is to be reachable around the clock. The study was commissioned by Eva Högl, the former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, shortly before the end of her term in 2024. The commissioner acts as the German parliament’s military ombudsperson. The survey was carried out by the Bundeswehr Centre of Military History and Social Sciences in Potsdam. The researchers contacted around 25,000 servicewomen and servicemen, about 18% of whom responded. They consider the results to be a representative picture of the armed forces. Some respondents were no longer serving at the time. According to Pistorius, the study is to be repeated at regular intervals.