# More than 60% of Germany’s female soldiers report harassment or abuse

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/more-than-60-of-germanys-female-soldiers-report-harassment-or-abuse/
- Published: 2026-11-13T05:00:09+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-13T05:20:47+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/nov/13/more-than-60-of-germanys-female-soldiers-report-harassment-or-abuse
- Topics: Europe, Government, Politics, Research, Science, World

## Key points

- More than 60% of female respondents reported on-duty harassment or abuse.
- A third said they lacked trust in superiors to handle complaints.
- Germany’s defence minister pledged zero tolerance and annual studies.

## Summary

A study of Germany’s armed forces found that more than 60% of women who responded had experienced sexual harassment or abuse while on duty. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius called the findings unacceptable and pledged zero tolerance, as the Bundeswehr seeks to recruit more personnel.

The survey received responses from 4,000 women; nearly 40% reported sexualised remarks, 15% unwanted mobile phone pictures, just over 8% physical attacks and 2% sexual violence. About 19% of male respondents reported similar misconduct, with gay and non-binary soldiers disproportionately affected. Around a third of those surveyed said they would not report incidents because they lacked trust in their superiors, and the ministry said the study would be repeated annually.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.