BERLIN: One in two female soldiers in the German military says she has encountered some kind of sexual abuse at least once while in the armed forces, an internal study published Friday found.
The report, released by the Bundeswehr’s Center of Military History and Social Studies in the eastern city of Potsdam, prompted new Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen to call for new measures to address problems faced by women in uniform.
Fifty-five percent of women in the Bundeswehr reported some kind of sexual mistreatment on the job, with 47 percent citing verbal abuse, 25 percent saying they had been confronted with pornographic images and 24 percent telling researchers they had experienced “unwanted sexually motivated physical contact.”
Three percent said they had suffered sexual assault.
Von der Leyen, Germany’s first female defense chief, said the poll conducted in 2011 among 3,058 women showed the military must change the way it deals with its female soldiers, who make up 10.1 percent of the armed forces.
“We have to make the Bundeswehr significantly more attractive for women,” she told reporters, adding that it must be made “more visible” how much the Bundeswehr benefits from the growing number of women in its ranks.
However a parallel poll of 1,771 male soldiers showed growing resentment of gender diversity.
More than 56 percent said women made the military worse, up from around 52 percent in 2005.
Twelve percent of the male soldiers reported experiencing sexual harassment.
Earlier this month, von der Leyen said she would make creating a more family-friendly army a priority during her term by allowing soldiers to work part-time and extending childcare.
US President Barack Obama in December gave the Pentagon a year to confront a scourge of sexual assaults that have sparked calls for commanders to lose the power to adjudicate such crimes.
The US military in August launched a raft of measures to combat sexual assaults, but their action did not appease some lawmakers who want much stronger steps to deal with hundreds of alleged offenses from harassment to rape.
Sexual abuse cases in the military are on the rise, according to a Pentagon report, rising to 3,374 in 2012, a six percent increase from the previous year.
One in two German female soldiers report sexual abuse
One in two German female soldiers report sexual abuse
Record low homicide rates in London as mayor defends policies
LONDON: The number of homicides in London last year were the lowest since 2014, UK police data revealed Monday, at a time when mayor Sadiq Khan faces mounting criticism over criminality in the British capital.
There were 97 homicides in 2025, the lowest total since 2014, and London’s homicide rate per capita was the lowest since records began in 1997, according to the new figures.
“Many people have been trying to talk London down, but the evidence tells a very different story,” Khan said in a statement.
“It’s clear that our sustained focus on being both tough on crime and tough on the complex causes of crime is working,” he added.
Khan has faced fierce criticism from Conservative and far-right politicians in the UK, as well as international figures like X owner Elon Musk, who claim that criminality in London has increased.
Some of his critics pin the accusations on the mayor’s pro-immigration stance.
The Labour party politician, who became London’s first Muslim mayor in 2016 and regularly uses his platform to celebrate the capital’s diversity, has also faced rising Islamophobic attacks on social media.
“The statistics speak for themselves, London is a safe place to live, work and visit. Thanks to the work of our dedicated officers, violent crime has reduced, and homicides are at their lowest levels since 2014,” the Met police said in a press release.
Violent incidents resulting in injuries were down by a fifth since 2014, while National Health Service data showed that the number of people hospitalized after being stabbed in London fell by nearly 30 percent in the last five years.
The police also pointed out that London’s homicide rate per capita was the lowest on record despite a growing population, and claimed it was lower than other major cities like New York, Paris, Los Angeles and Berlin.
However, the latest release did not include data on other types of crime including thefts and sexual offenses.
Anti-immigration Reform UK last week said fighting crime in London would be a priority for the party going into key local elections in May and mayoral elections in 2028.
Its mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham last week said London “is no longer safe,” particularly for women.
Phone thefts also continue to plague the British capital, with the Met recording 117,211 stolen phones in 2024, up 25 percent from 91,481 in 2019.
