BERLIN, Nov 11 (Reuters) – German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius promised new measures to combat sexual abuse in the military on Wednesday after a report showed widespread misconduct at a time the armed forces are trying to attract more young women to the ranks.
“We are currently seeing a rise in the number of reported cases. This is unacceptable,” he told reporters in Berlin.
The report, by the military’s own Centre of Military History and Social Sciences, showed that 40% of female soldiers had experienced at least one episode of sexual misconduct in the past 12 months. The conduct ranged from verbal harassment to visual abuse, such as unwilling exposure to pornography, unwanted touching or – in 2% of cases – sexual violence.
Around 19% of male soldiers had also experienced similar misconduct, with non-heterosexual soldiers disproportionately affected, it showed.
The report comes as Germany is looking to build up its military into the most powerful in Europe after decades of underinvestment that saw the armed forces shrink to a fraction of their size during the Cold War.
Last year, the government approved plans for voluntary military service aimed at doubling the number of trained reservists to around 200,000, in addition to a target of at least 260,000 active-duty soldiers.
The report, based on survey questions sent to 45,000 serving personnel, indicated that the actual number of cases of abuse was likely to be far higher than the number officially reported.
“We are talking here about three to five times as many cases as have actually been reported. Unsurprisingly, young women in the lower ranks are particularly affected,” Pistorius said.
“To me, it is clear that this study on the unreported cases was the starting point; it was the beginning, not the end of the matter,” Pistorius said.
He promised new measures to make it easier to report abuse and track what action was being taken and said more advice would be offered to those reporting abuse. More responsibility would be placed on commanders to take action.
“Anyone who fails to set an example, or who even tolerates misconduct or fails to deal with it consistently, will no longer hold a leadership position,” he said.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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