TW for rape/assault/harassment - Deaths of female sailors send German Navy into stormy waters
Turmoil in Germany over deaths of two female sailors aboard Navy's training missile
Navy leadership under increasing political pressure as reports of sexual harassment and verbal abuse surface
Germany's defense minister has been under fire in recent days over a number of military scandals, including the drowning of two female Navy conscript aboard the Gorch Fock, a prestigious sailing-vessel used by the German Navy to train young officers. The two deaths are seemingly unrelated, but have caused calls for better civilian oversight of the education methods of the German Armed Forces.
In the first case, an 18-year-old conscript named Jenny Bröken fell off the ship and drowned during a night watch in September of 2008. At the time, authorities called Jenny's death a tragic accident, but Jenny's parents told the press on Monday that they would be pressing criminal charges against the German Navy on grounds of suspected sexual harassment with fatal consequences. The 18-year-old conscript drowned just a day before a scheduled return ashore, and had pressed her mother to get her an appointment with her gynocologist as quickly as possible upon her return, stating explicitly that if no appointment was available, she would have to be taken to a hospital. Jenny's mother told journalists that she had not seen the connection at the time, but due to recent revelations about conditions aboard the ship, she now suspected that her daughter had wanted to have a rape examination and had been pushed off the ship to silence her and her possible alligations.
Practices aboard the Gorch Fock, a sailing vessel the German Navy uses to train conscripts in military command structures, teamwork and unit cohesio as w and basic nautical skills, has been under increasing scrutiny after reports of the death of a second female conscript came to light. 25-year-old Sarah Lena Seele died after falling out of the ship's rigging. Reports claim Sarah had been hesitant to climb into the rigging, citing lack of sleep and physical exhaustion, but commanding officers had pressured her and other conscripts, both male and female, into doing so. As the circumstances of Sarah Lena's death remain unclear, reports have surfaced about other questionable pracitces aboard the Gorch Fock, including sexual harassment and verbal abuse of conscripts and subordinates through higher-ranked sailors. One conscript reportedly called the ship "Germany's largest swimming brothel", describing practices such as ranking the ugliest female sailors and handing a cash "prize" to the first male sailor to have sex with her. Reports also describe a binge-drinking culture among conscripts sanctioned and even encouraged by commanding officers, who organized and pressured their subordinates into attending a party just two days after Sarah Lena's fatal fall from the rigging. Sexual harassment and attempted assault has been reported by both male and female conscripts.
After initially attempting to qualm these rumors and calling for an orderly investiation of the claims, Germany's defense minister recalled the Captain of the Gorch Fock over the weekend under pressure from the press and the opposition. The crew of the ship, including the conscripts, had already been flown back to Germany in the past week, and will not be returning to the ship until the leadership situation is clear. Some reports have called the situation on board prior to the recall of the crew a "mutiny", an interpretation military command, including Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, publically rejected. He and others have promised a full inquiry not just into the leadership upon the Gorch Fock, but also into the leadership principles of the Bundeswehr -the German Armed Forces- as a whole, though a previously-sceduled report to the German parliament by military ombudsman Helmut Könighaus criticized some leadership practices, but did not adress the Gorch Fock scandal.
(original content from urban_stoop cobbled together from various German outlets. Here is some general information about the political fallout in English, if you're interested)
This is a messy, messy story. "Trust women" is obviously the way to go here imo, and I would not at all be surprised if the conditions described on board were true; we all know military command structures can be petri dishes for power abuse and sexual harassment.
I'm not happy with the way the media (even the international press) is reporting this story- it's all about the political fallout for the Defense minister, who is a political superstar and people have been eager to see him screw up in some way, and not enough about the victims and perpetrators of these crimes. Still, I thought the original story might interest a few of you, and make for an interesting discussion in terms of women in the armed forces, and if/how rape culture becomes excarbated in militay settings, with their emphasis on power and command. Thoughts?
Navy leadership under increasing political pressure as reports of sexual harassment and verbal abuse surface
Germany's defense minister has been under fire in recent days over a number of military scandals, including the drowning of two female Navy conscript aboard the Gorch Fock, a prestigious sailing-vessel used by the German Navy to train young officers. The two deaths are seemingly unrelated, but have caused calls for better civilian oversight of the education methods of the German Armed Forces.
In the first case, an 18-year-old conscript named Jenny Bröken fell off the ship and drowned during a night watch in September of 2008. At the time, authorities called Jenny's death a tragic accident, but Jenny's parents told the press on Monday that they would be pressing criminal charges against the German Navy on grounds of suspected sexual harassment with fatal consequences. The 18-year-old conscript drowned just a day before a scheduled return ashore, and had pressed her mother to get her an appointment with her gynocologist as quickly as possible upon her return, stating explicitly that if no appointment was available, she would have to be taken to a hospital. Jenny's mother told journalists that she had not seen the connection at the time, but due to recent revelations about conditions aboard the ship, she now suspected that her daughter had wanted to have a rape examination and had been pushed off the ship to silence her and her possible alligations.
Practices aboard the Gorch Fock, a sailing vessel the German Navy uses to train conscripts in military command structures, teamwork and unit cohesio as w and basic nautical skills, has been under increasing scrutiny after reports of the death of a second female conscript came to light. 25-year-old Sarah Lena Seele died after falling out of the ship's rigging. Reports claim Sarah had been hesitant to climb into the rigging, citing lack of sleep and physical exhaustion, but commanding officers had pressured her and other conscripts, both male and female, into doing so. As the circumstances of Sarah Lena's death remain unclear, reports have surfaced about other questionable pracitces aboard the Gorch Fock, including sexual harassment and verbal abuse of conscripts and subordinates through higher-ranked sailors. One conscript reportedly called the ship "Germany's largest swimming brothel", describing practices such as ranking the ugliest female sailors and handing a cash "prize" to the first male sailor to have sex with her. Reports also describe a binge-drinking culture among conscripts sanctioned and even encouraged by commanding officers, who organized and pressured their subordinates into attending a party just two days after Sarah Lena's fatal fall from the rigging. Sexual harassment and attempted assault has been reported by both male and female conscripts.
After initially attempting to qualm these rumors and calling for an orderly investiation of the claims, Germany's defense minister recalled the Captain of the Gorch Fock over the weekend under pressure from the press and the opposition. The crew of the ship, including the conscripts, had already been flown back to Germany in the past week, and will not be returning to the ship until the leadership situation is clear. Some reports have called the situation on board prior to the recall of the crew a "mutiny", an interpretation military command, including Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, publically rejected. He and others have promised a full inquiry not just into the leadership upon the Gorch Fock, but also into the leadership principles of the Bundeswehr -the German Armed Forces- as a whole, though a previously-sceduled report to the German parliament by military ombudsman Helmut Könighaus criticized some leadership practices, but did not adress the Gorch Fock scandal.
(original content from urban_stoop cobbled together from various German outlets. Here is some general information about the political fallout in English, if you're interested)
This is a messy, messy story. "Trust women" is obviously the way to go here imo, and I would not at all be surprised if the conditions described on board were true; we all know military command structures can be petri dishes for power abuse and sexual harassment.
I'm not happy with the way the media (even the international press) is reporting this story- it's all about the political fallout for the Defense minister, who is a political superstar and people have been eager to see him screw up in some way, and not enough about the victims and perpetrators of these crimes. Still, I thought the original story might interest a few of you, and make for an interesting discussion in terms of women in the armed forces, and if/how rape culture becomes excarbated in militay settings, with their emphasis on power and command. Thoughts?