Germany’s conservative bloc, the CDU/CSU, has rejected a proposal from the Social Democratic Party (SPD) to criminalize verbal sexual harassment, commonly known as “catcalling
Susanne Hierl, the CDU/CSU’s legal policy spokesperson, stated that “symbolic legislation and regulations that are not enforceable in practice do not help those affected in the end” She emphasized the importance of raising societal awareness regarding the unacceptability of such verbal harassment and fostering social disapproval of the behavior
While acknowledging that catcalling is “disrespectful, hurtful and intolerable” Hierl argued that legally pursuing these actions remains difficult short of provable insult She expressed concerns that introducing new criminal offenses with poorly defined boundaries would create uncertainty rather than increased legal clarity
The SPD had previously called for closing what they perceive as a legal gap by making verbal sexual harassment a punishable offense Sonja Eichwede, deputy parliamentary group leader of the SPD, stated that such behavior is unacceptable and advocated for the creation of a new criminal offense specifically targeting catcalling, describing it as “targeted, significant, verbal sexual harassment”