Women have been serving in all branches of the German armed forces for 25 years. However, an investigative report by “Report Mainz”, a program on German public television, has brought to light serious allegations of discrimination, sexual harassment and violence against women in the German armed forces.

According to Deutsche Welle, some of the women spoke to journalists and described an environment in which incidents of sexist behaviour and sexual assaults are downplayed or simply tolerated. According to their testimonies, in some cases instructors and senior officers in the Bundeswehr fail to intervene, while it is alleged that their conduct may even encourage such behaviour.

Nearly 2,000 reports in five years

The issue came to the fore following a scandal at the paratrooper unit in Zweibrücken, where allegations of misogyny and sexual offences had been recorded, among other complaints. However, according to “Report Mainz”, the reporting of such incidents is not limited to that particular unit in Germany.

The figures demonstrate the scale of the problem: between 2021 and 2025, 1,965 reports of suspected incidents of sexually inappropriate behaviour were recorded in the German armed forces. Of these, 828 concerned sexual harassment, while a total of 1,114 cases were referred to the prosecuting authorities.

The Bundeswehr itself points out that a significant number of similar incidents may go unreported, partly because of fears about possible consequences for victims’ professional careers. For this reason, an investigation into the true extent of the phenomenon is currently under way.

The issue takes on particular significance, however, at a time when the Bundeswehr is seeking to significantly increase its personnel, with women currently accounting for around 13% of military personnel.