Bundeswehr Study Finds 72% of Female Soldiers Faced Verbal Harassment

Germany’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday presented the armed forces’ first comprehensive study of unreported sexual misconduct, drawn from 8,144 questionnaires returned by a sample of 45,338 service members.

The Potsdam Centre for Military History and Social Sciences found that 40% of female soldiers and 19% of male soldiers experienced at least one incident in the previous 12 months.

Official Figures Show Wide Harm

Over an entire career, 72% of female soldiers and 31% of male soldiers said they had been verbally harassed at least once. Some 39% of women reported unwanted sexual touching, and 10% said they had been victims of sexual violence, compared with 4% of men.

The online survey ran from July 13 to August 27 and invited every female soldier plus a comparable sample of men. Researchers called the weighted results representative of a force that numbered 186,200 troops in September, including about 25,500 women.

Younger Women Hit Hardest

Younger women in the lowest ranks were the most affected. Among men, non-heterosexual soldiers were disproportionately targeted. Perpetrators were men in at least 96% of cases involving women.

Female soldiers in units where women make up more than 15% of personnel reported fewer incidents. Almost half of the women in seagoing naval units said they had been verbally harassed in the past year. Combat units showed no statistical difference from the rest of the force.

The findings land as Berlin tries to grow the army to 260,000 active troops, a drive that depends in part on attracting more women, who remain volunteers under the new military service model.

Few Incidents Are Reported

Unreported cases are three to six times higher than official complaints. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said only between one third and one sixth of incidents are reported.

Women reported sexual violence in one of three cases, but only one in five verbal incidents and one in six cases of visual misconduct. The most common reason for staying silent was a wish not to draw attention, followed by a lack of trust in the reporting system.

Pistorius Pledges Zero Tolerance

“There is zero tolerance for sexual misconduct in the Bundeswehr. This is nothing less than a matter of upholding the human dignity enshrined in our Basic Law,” Pistorius told lawmakers.

He announced a 34-measure action plan, including the HELP counseling office opened on November 1 outside the chain of command. “Anyone who fails to lead by example, tolerates misconduct, or does not address it consistently will no longer hold a leadership position,” he said.

Parliamentary Commissioner Henning Otte called the figures “dramatically high” and said looking away was no longer possible. The Greens argued that victims still need a fully external reporting office.