The Social Democratic Party (SPD) has firmly defended its call for stricter penalties for verbal sexual harassment, dismissing concerns about the potential scope of such measures. Speaking to the German news network “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” Parliamentary Secretary General Dirk Wiese questioned the relevance of debates surrounding the distinction between harassment and harmless compliments, arguing that they trivialized a serious issue.
Wiese expressed confidence in the judiciary’s ability to appropriately assess cases, drawing a comparison to how courts routinely handle instances of defamation. He specifically addressed the practice commonly referred to as “catcalling” asserting that it constitutes “grave verbal sexual harassment” and should not be misconstrued as inconsequential remarks.
This stance comes in response to a proposal by Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD), who suggested introducing a new criminal offense to explicitly penalize this form of conduct. However, the SPD’s coalition partners have voiced reservations regarding the necessity of introducing a dedicated legal framework to criminalize targeted verbal harassment.