Abuses in the Bundeswehr: Study: 72 percent of female soldiers complain about harassment

Berlin. Significant grievances in the troops: Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has announced consistent action against sexual harassment and sexualized violence in the Bundeswehr. "There is zero tolerance for sexualized misconduct in the Bundeswehr. Zero tolerance is the line," said the SPD politician in Berlin after a meeting of the Defense Committee.

The ministry presented the MPs with a so-called dark field study - based on surveys - initiated by the former military commissioner Eva Högl (SPD). Accordingly, based on their entire period of service, 72 percent of female soldiers and 31 percent of male soldiers stated that they had been verbally harassed at least once, as the Ministry of Defense announced.

The study also shows that the number of actual cases is three to six times higher than previously known (“reporting volume”). Perpetrators are therefore mostly men, both in the case of sexual misconduct against women and men.

Younger women in the lower ranks are particularly affected. Among men, non-heterosexual men are disproportionately affected. Combat troops show no statistical differences in sexualized misconduct compared to the rest of the armed forces.

According to the study, in the past twelve months before the survey, 38 percent of female soldiers and 16 percent of male soldiers experienced verbal sexualized misconduct, visual misconduct by 7 percent of female soldiers and 5 percent of female soldiers, and 9 percent of female soldiers and 3 percent of male soldiers experiencing physical sexualized misconduct. Both 2 percent of female and male soldiers suffered sexual violence.

"It's about nothing less than respect for human dignity as stipulated in our Basic Law, and of course this applies all the more in the Bundeswehr. It is non-negotiable and it is at the center of internal leadership," said Pistorius, who also presented an action plan.

"If you don't have respect for your comrade in peacetime, how can your comrade be able to rely on someone who treats him like that in an emergency? That's why it's always a question for the Bundeswehr as a whole," said Pistorius. “I have the greatest interest in redressing these grievances.”

The action plan lists 34 concrete measures, including the Help advice center that was newly set up at the beginning of November. The abbreviation stands for assistance, initial advice, pilot function and prevention support and is outside the military hierarchy. It is located at the Center for Inner Leadership. There should also be psychosocial support for those affected during the investigation.

For the legal prosecution and punishment of misconduct, there should be specialization and professionalization of military disciplinary lawyers and the establishment of an investigative group of specially trained experts. The information rights of those affected should be strengthened and expanded.

The Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Carsten Breuer, said that every soldier must feel safe. He said: "The people entrusted to our care must be able to rely on us to protect them. We are responsible for this."

The reported numbers had increased in recent months. According to information from the Bundeswehr, it is the first study of its kind in a public authority.

The Bundeswehr's Center for Military History and Social Sciences has contacted 45,000 men and women of all rank groups. The response rate was around 18 percent, so more than 8,100 questionnaires were evaluated.

The study also examines the question of why incidents go unreported. The most frequently mentioned by those affected was that they did not want to cause a stir in their personal and military environment. The second most common cause is a lack of trust in the reporting system, in military structures and the military environment. Direct social pressure after a report is therefore only given secondary priority.

The Green Party politician Sara Nanni called for an external reporting agency “that has investigative powers and can also take disciplinary action accordingly.” She said: “These measures are all good, but these measures are not enough.”

However, there is already the office of the Armed Forces Commissioner, who is seen as an advocate for the soldiers, who can also contact him anonymously. The Military Commissioner Henning Otte (CDU) called for the dark field study to be implemented into a “lived leadership culture”. “It has become clear that there is a lack of trust in the structures of the Bundeswehr,” he said after a meeting of the Defense Committee.

It is right that cases are punished. "And above all, that prevention must be addressed now, that it is self-evident for all management levels that sexual harassment is an issue that is not acceptable in the Bundeswehr. Every case is one too many, because it is a breach of comradeship and comradeship is the foundation for ensuring the operational capability of our troops."