40% of women and 20% of men are sexually assaulted in the German armed forces, according to a new study. Politico writes about it.
Over 8,100 military personnel participated in the anonymous survey, which was conducted between July 13 and August 27. It turned out that these were various violations - from lewd comments and unwanted touches to outright violence.
However, most of these cases remain without formal proceedings. Depending on the nature of the violation, only one-sixth to one-third of victims report the incident. Many people prefer not to draw attention to themselves, fear negative consequences or doubt that the complaint will lead to the punishment of the perpetrators.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius identified the problem as systemic and promised to tighten supervision over the investigation of such cases, increase responsibility for violators and expand support for victims. The research findings come against the backdrop of Berlin's plans to widely recruit women for military service.
Bloomberg notes that the results of the study destroy Germany's plans to expand its army to 260,000 soldiers by the mid-1930s.
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