German Study Finds 55% of Women Feel Only "Mostly" Respected, Yet 88% Back Tougher Digital‑Sexual‑Violence Laws
Mixed

German Study Finds 55% of Women Feel Only “Mostly” Respected, Yet 88% Back Tougher Digital‑Sexual‑Violence Laws

More than every other woman in Germany says she does not always feel respected by men.
A Forsa survey commissioned by RTL and ntv found that 55 % of participants said they feel “mostly” respected in everyday life, while 10 % reported feeling respected only “rarely”. Only 34 % claimed they are treated with respect “almost always”.

The picture looks better in steady relationships: 78 % of women say their partners respect them “almost always” 19 % say it is “mostly” and just 2 % say it is “rarely”.

There is a stark mismatch between how men and women perceive the situation. Seventy‑seven percent of men believe that women are treated by them with respect “almost always” and 18 % think the treatment is “mostly”. Only 1 % of men suspect that women feel respected rarely. The survey therefore highlights a clear discrepancy between self‑ and other‑perception for both genders.

Many Germans see the overall social climate between men and women as deteriorating. About 38 % of respondents believe that men behave less respectfully toward women today than ten years ago. Only 23 % see an improvement, and 35 % notice no significant change.

The gender gap is again notable here: 48 % of women say men’s behaviour has become less respectful, whereas only 27 % of men share that view. Instead, 32 % of men think the treatment has improved, and 39 % perceive no change.

A large majority of people in Germany support tougher laws against digital sexualised violence. According to the survey, 88 % think that the creation and distribution of fake pornographic recordings should be criminalised in the future. Only six percent oppose this. The agreement is especially high among women (93 %) and still strong among men (84 %). Across all age groups the proposal enjoys broad backing, with approval ratings ranging from 85 % to 92 %.