Overview
- The military's Centre of Military History and Social Sciences presented the study to the Bundestag defence committee on Wednesday and reported that about 40% of female personnel and roughly 19% of male personnel experienced at least one form of sexual misconduct in the past 12 months.
- Researchers said many incidents go unreported and estimated actual cases are three to six times higher than official figures, based on an anonymous survey of more than 8,100 serving members out of 45,000 contacted.
- The misconduct ranged from unwanted sexual comments and exposure to sexual images to unwanted touching and sexual violence, with roughly 2% of both women and men reporting sexual violence during the survey period.
- Pistorius announced a 34-point package that includes an external advice service being expanded toward 24/7 availability, clearer reporting and tracking, and new assessments that could remove commanders who tolerate or fail to address misconduct.
- The findings highlight risks for recruitment and retention as Germany expands its forces, and the study noted non-heterosexual personnel are disproportionately affected while units with more than 15% women reported fewer incidents.