Sexualized harassment, discrimination, and violence infringe on the core principles of human rights. For this reason behavior of this nature is prohibited in Germany by a variety of provisions at university, state, and federal level. You can find some of the most important legal texts concerning this matter below

Internal University Guidelines

Regulations on Sexualized Harassment, Discrimination and Violence at Freie Universität Berlin

As well as offering a definition of sexualized harassment, discrimination and violence, these regulations from 2020 outline key approaches and procedures in handling incidents of this nature at Freie Universität Berlin. They also address raising awareness and preventative measures.

Statute for Safeguarding and Promoting Equal Opportunities at Freie Unversität Berlin

(in German)
Freie Universität Berlin takes a stand against sexualized harassment, discrimination and violence. Section 3 (2) states: “FUB protects all its members and guests from discrimination, sexualized harassment and violence, bullying and stalking.”

Antidiscrimination Policy at Freie Universität Berlin

"Treating each other with respect means discrimination, sexualized violence and harassment, bullying, and stalking will not be tolerated". Section 22 of the anti-discrimination statutes states that persons with a duty of care in particular have a responsibility to prevent sexualized harassment, discrimination and violence.

Code of Conduct at Freie Universität Berlin

In its Code of Conduct, Freie Universität Berlin commits to respectful coexistence and a campus free of discrimination: “... we as university members do not accept discrimination, bullying and psychological, physical or sexualized violence, nor du we look away when others are discriminated against”.

Statutes for Safeguarding Good Research Practice

Article 1 (4) of the Articles of Association addresses the possible connection between the abuse of power, the exploitation of dependency relationships and sexualized harassment, discrimination and violence.

Regulations for Users of the University Library of Freie Universität Berlin

(in German)
The regulations for users of the university library are valid for all librarian institutions and virtual user rooms for electronic resources in the campus net of Freie Universität. § 10 (1) states: “Sexualized harassment, discrimination and violence within the libraries are not tolerated.”

On the State Level (State of Berlin)

State Gender Equality Act (Landesgleichstellungsgesetz)

(in German)
Berlin’s State Gender Equality Act (Landesgleichstellungsgesetz, LGG) addresses sexualized harassment at the workplace (Section 12) alongside a plan to promote women’s professional advancement and guidelines on hiring, selection procedures, and much more. This section of the act stipulates that managerial staff have a duty of care to their employees in preventing sexualized harassment, discrimination, and violence and must pursue incidents that fall into this category. It also states that submitting a complaint must not result in the person making the complaint suffering any disadvantage.

Berlin State Anti-Discrimination Act (Landesantidiskriminierungsgesetz)

(in German)
The Berlin State Anti-Discrimination Act (Landesantidiskriminierungsgesetz, LADG) – which has been in force since June 2020 – applies to all individuals under public law and prohibits discrimination on the basis of ethnic background, perceived race, religion and beliefs, disability, chronic illness, age, language, sexual orientation and gender, or social status. It offers students and those who are not employed at Freie Universität Berlin and are thus protected by the AGG protection against sexual harassment and allows them to assert claims for compensation.

On the Federal Level

General Act on Equal Treatment (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz)

The General Act on Equal Treatment (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz, AGG) of 2006 protects employees against discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics including ethnic background, religion and beliefs, disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender. An individual is entitled to legal remedies and to file a claim according to the AGG if they have been subjected to disadvantage without objective reason on the grounds of one or more of these protected characteristics. The AGG also defines and protects employees specifically from sexualized harassment at the workplace (Section 3(4)).

German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB; Sections 174 to 184j)

The German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB) governs “offences against sexual self-determination.” Section 177 addresses sexual assault, and the revised 2016 version of the law puts the wishes of the person who has suffered the assault at the forefront. This change has made sexual acts punishable by law where an individual signal that they do not give their consent, for example by saying “no” or crying (otherwise known as the “no means no” principle). It has also made clear that sexual acts where an individual does not have the capacity to give consent are illegal. Sexualized harassment can be prosecuted under Section 184i if it can be considered sexually motivated physical harassment.

You can find further information on the legal frameworks relevant to sexualized harassment, discrimination, and violence by taking a consultation with the Contact Person in Cases of Sexualized Harassment, Discrimination and Violence at FU Berlin Wendy Stollberg.