Survey of members of the armed forces Sexism, violence, exclusion - the army has a problem

A new study commissioned by the Swiss Confederation shows: Almost half of all members of the armed forces have experienced gender-based discrimination and sexualized violence. Now the army leadership is taking action.

Sexist remarks, harassment, rape: for years, statements made by women in the military have caused a stir. For a long time, the army dismissed these as isolated incidents.

It was only under army chief Thomas Süssli that it committed to a zero-tolerance strategy in 2023. "We want consistent action to be taken against this and, above all, not to look the other way," said Süssli in a video produced by the army on the internet platform YouTube.

A year earlier, the army created a specialist unit for women. The motto: "An army for all." It had a responsibility to "create a culture in which diversity is dealt with consciously, respectfully and profitably," was the full-bodied announcement.

Now, for the first time, a study commissioned by the federal government shows that Almost half of members of the armed forces have experienced gender-based discrimination and sexualized violence. Now the army leadership is taking action.

764 women and 362 men were surveyed

The study was conducted at the beginning of 2023. 1126 military personnel were surveyed, 764 women and 362 men. They provided information about their experiences during their service.

The result: 50 percent of the participants were affected by discrimination during their service from the end of recruit school, as the army announced on Thursday.

40 percent of those surveyed stated that they had experienced verbal, non-verbal or physical sexualized violence. 81 percent reported having rarely to very often been confronted with sexist remarks and jokes in the service.

Results as a wake-up call

Isolated cases? Absolutely not. The problem is structural. According to the study, discrimination and sexualized violence are "intertwined with the organizational culture of the Swiss Armed Forces". The results should be "a wake-up call", the authors write.

On Thursday afternoon, army chief Thomas Süssli was shocked by the results: "They are unacceptable." There is no place for discrimination and sexualized violence, he said. "We must do more to strengthen prevention and protection."

In response, the army leadership announced several measures: in the area of prevention, the army wants to create a code and training modules at platoon and company level. An anonymous reporting tool is also to be introduced. The army also plans to strengthen victims' rights. For example, the establishment of a reporting system for disciplinary cases due to sexualized violence.

An interim evaluation of these measures is planned for 2026. A year later, members of the armed forces will be surveyed again to see if anything has improved.

But is that enough? Those who do not conform to the traditional image of soldiers are particularly affected. In other words, male, white, strong and self-disciplined.

No room for "others" in the army

Those who do not conform to the prevailing norms in the Swiss army are much more affected. According to the study, these are all those who are not male, heterosexual and/or cis or whose body, skin color, origin or religion is different. They are told that there is no place for them in the army, says Mahide Aslan, Head of the Women's Specialist Unit in the Armed Forces.

Around 95 percent of the women surveyed had experienced situations that could be classified as sexualized violence. The list of transgressive behavior is long: sexist remarks, sexual harassment, intrusive glances, unrestrained staring, exhibitionism, physical assaults while showering and sleeping, unwanted touching and kissing, as well as attempted and executed rape in rare cases.

Non-heterosexual men are similarly affected, with trans men and people (70 percent) slightly less affected. Unsurprisingly, homophobic terms are part of everyday life in the troops.

Zero-tolerance strategy also criticized

The study also criticizes certain aspects of the army leadership's zero-tolerance strategy, including the idea that everyone in the army wears the same uniform and is therefore equal. Only performance counts and not gender. These narratives prevent existing distinctions, on which devaluations are based, from being seen and dismantled.

The study also warns against trivializing sexist slogans. If these were seen as normal and harmless, they would pave the way for even more serious forms of sexualized violence. This is illustrated by the statement of a female soldier. "It starts with stupid jokes, comments and certain remarks. You get messages, sexual requests, sex videos etc. on your cell phone. Sexual physical harassment comes next."

SDA