Bundeswehr study exposes widespread sexual harassment in German military

For the first time, a study on unreported cases provides reliable data on sexual misconduct in the German Armed Forces Image: Florian Gaertner/photothek.de/picture alliance

"It was clear to us from the outset that the analysis would uncover uncomfortable truths," Defence Minister Boris Pistorius of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) told the Bundestag , Germany's lower house of parliament, on Wednesday.

Earlier that day, he had presented the findings of the Bundeswehr 's first study into unreported cases of sexual misconduct to the Defense Committee. According to the findings, sexual misconduct in the Bundeswehr is far more widespread than previously known.

"The study has shown that only between one third and one sixth of cases are reported," Pistorius said, announcing an action plan to address the issue.

"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 . And that principle applies all the more within the Bundeswehr."

The study examined incidents that had gone unreported, the so-called "dark figure" of cases that never reach official statistics. The Bundeswehr Centre of Military History and Social Sciences (ZMSBw) surveyed 45,000 service members, around 18% of whom responded. More than 8,100 questionnaires were evaluated and supplemented with individual and group interviews. According to the institute, the data are statistically representative.

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