Following reports of right-wing extremist and sexist incidents among paratroopers in Zweibrücken, Rhineland-Palatinate, pressure is mounting on Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defence to take far-reaching action. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Henning Otte (CDU), has called for the completion and publication of a long-discussed dark-figure study on sexism in the Bundeswehr.
“A robust analysis is essential in order to develop targeted and effective prevention and awareness measures,” Otte told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
“Despite the increased number of reported incidents involving violations of sexual self-determination – which can also be attributed to greater sensitivity and increased transparency within the armed forces – a significant number of unreported cases must still be assumed,” the Parliamentary Commissioner explained. For this reason, the dark-figure study, which had already been recommended more than a year ago by his predecessor Eva Högl (SPD) and subsequently announced by the Ministry of Defence, must now finally be implemented without delay.
“We continue to need an armed force in which all female and male soldiers can perform their duties with respect, dignity and safety,” Otte warned. “This is not only a matter of law and order – it is a matter of attitude.” Victims of sexualised violence must be able to trust that they will not be left alone or stigmatised. Every such offence within the Bundeswehr must therefore be reported, investigated and consistently punished.
According to the RND report, following Högl’s recommendation, the Ministry of Defence commissioned the Bundeswehr’s Centre for Military History and Social Sciences in 2024 to conduct a scientific dark-figure study into the causes, scale and consequences of sexualised misconduct in the armed forces. So far, however, only a project outline exists. The surveys are not expected to begin until later this year, the report said.
The head of the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency, Ferda Ataman, told RND that she expects “from the Bundeswehr what applies to every other employer: it must protect its employees from harassment.” Failure to do so would also make it more difficult to recruit young people under the new military service model.
“Sexual harassment and discrimination are not only breaches of duty, they also damage the reputation of the armed forces, which are currently seeking to attract young people for military service,” Ataman said. “A culture of looking the other way must therefore come to an end.”
The incidents in Zweibrücken became known in late December after female soldiers from Paratrooper Regiment 26 reported them to the Bundestag’s Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces. According to the army, the cases involved “sexualised misconduct, extremist behaviour and violations of the Narcotics Act.” Bundeswehr Inspector General Carsten Breuer said in response that “sexual violence or extremism, drug abuse or discrimination are not tolerated in the Bundeswehr.”
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