An anonymous survey of the German Armed Forces has shed light on the scale of sexualised misconduct in the armed forces, with findings published on 11 November 2026. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius presented the results to the Bundestag’s Defence Committee. According to the study, 40 per cent of the female soldiers surveyed said they had experienced at least one such incident while on duty in the previous 12 months.
That same day, a former naval servicewoman from Wilhelmshaven told NDR what such experiences can look like in everyday life. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, described repeated sexualised misconduct during her service. At a party, she said, two more senior colleagues had independently touched her buttocks against her will. The following day, she said she confronted both of them. Her account is a personal testimony; the NDR report does not say when the incidents took place.
The former servicewoman told the broadcaster that she had reported her experiences to complaints offices and her superiors at the time, and that they had taken her seriously. At the same time, she pointed to the difficulties other women might face in dealing with their superiors. Citing the study, NDR reported that members of the Navy are affected by sexualised misconduct at an above-average rate.
According to Tagesschau, around 45,000 service personnel were contacted for the study. About 8,100 fully completed online questionnaires were received. The figures relate to respondents’ answers and should not be equated with the number of cases officially reported.
The researchers distinguished between different forms of misconduct. Female participants most often cited verbal harassment. Depending on the type of incident, respondents gave reasons for not reporting it that included fear of personal repercussions and doubts about the effectiveness of a complaint. This brings not only the conduct of individual accused persons into focus, but also the question of whether those affected trust the procedures in place.
The Ministry of Defence had already set up a support service before the findings were presented. Since 1 November 2026, people affected have been able to receive confidential initial advice there, independently of their superiors. Pistorius also announced an action plan. According to Tagesschau, the way managers handle sexualised misconduct is to be taken into account in their future performance assessments.
The question of how independently investigations should be organised remains politically contentious. The Left Party’s Zada Salihovic and CDU defence policy spokesperson Vivian Tauschwitz called for an independent investigative body, according to Tagesschau. Under the current procedure, disciplinary superiors must launch an investigation if there is a suspicion; if there are indications of a criminal offence, cases should be referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to be passed on.
The study is part of a debate that has been going on for some time: the former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces Eva Högl had already called for such a study in 2024. Whether new support and leadership rules strengthen the trust of those affected will only become clear through their application in everyday service life.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).