Extent of sexism surprises queer soldier

Interview

The association of queer members of the army sees the army leadership as responsible for preventing harassment in the future. There is still a long way to go for cultural change, says Jan Imhof.

Reto Wattenhofer / ch media

Mr. Imhof, are you surprised by the results of the study that examined sexism in the Swiss army?
Jan Imhof: The results are concerning, but correspond to the perception of our members. However, the extent surprises us. It is an important step that the army has recognized and acknowledged the problem. Dealing with diversity must continue to be learned and improved, especially in a uniform military community.

The study showed that incidents often go unreported. Her association QueerOfficers is also a contact point for people who are discriminated against in military service. What experiences do you have in this area?
Our experience also shows that those affected rarely contact us immediately after an event; be it that they identify the problems with themselves or they don’t want to make a fuss. The pressure not to stray and not stand out in the military community is high and so are the number of unreported cases. We hope to gain further insights into queer army members from the ongoing study, which examines the decades-long discrimination against homosexual people in the Swiss army. The National Council initiated this…

Army chief Thomas Süssli has announced a series of measures. In your opinion, are these sufficient to achieve the desired cultural change in the Swiss Army?
Discrimination and sexualized violence must be able to be recognized and named at all levels. If something happens, you have to look and act. And the measures announced go in this direction. But there is still a long way to go for cultural change.​

What expectations do you have of the army leadership?
The study shows that discrimination and sexual violence occur regardless of biological and social gender and regardless of sexual orientation. A holistic approach to cultural change is therefore needed. Bringing this about is now the long-term responsibility of the army leadership, and we look forward to the next evaluation in 2027. (aargauerzeitung.ch).

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