Strengthening the German army prevented sexual harassment

Germany has faced an obstacle on its way to creating Europe’s largest army because of a report on the prevalence of sexual harassment among military personnel.

According to the study, about 40% of women serving in the Bundeswehr have experienced at least one case of sexually inappropriate behavior in the past 12 months. About 45 thousand people sent questionnaires, but about 8.1 thousand (18%) answered them fully. Most of the cases involved verbal harassment, but 2% of military personnel, both women and men, reported being sexually assaulted.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called the violations a systemic problem of the Bundeswehr and promised to take action. “There is a principle of zero tolerance for sexually inappropriate behaviour in the German armed forces,” he told MPs on November 11.