In recent years, the Georg August University of Göttingen has unfortunately been involved on several occasions in incidents in which lecturers blatantly exploited their position of power over female students.
For example, a professor of forest science and forest ecology was accused in 44 cases of unwanted touching, sexist remarks and excessive alcohol consumption. The Administrative Court of Göttingen was able to establish breaches of official duty and sexual harassment in several cases (Administrative Court Göttingen, judgment of 11 October 2023, case no. 5 A 2/18).
A former lecturer in the Department of Biology is alleged to have sexually harassed a female student during a research project in the forest in May 2018 by masturbating in her presence “for research purposes” and ejaculating onto a meat sample. He is also alleged to have kneaded her buttocks and stroked her back. The man was convicted by the Regional Court of Göttingen and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended on probation.
Another professor of forest sciences had to appear before the Regional Court of Göttingen for the first time in 2022.
The university lecturer, who has since been convicted, used physical violence against several female employees over a long period of time—particularly affected was a doctoral candidate who had come to Germany for her dissertation. Between 2014 and 2016, the professor regularly summoned her to his office, locked the door from the inside, and beat his employee with a bamboo stick about 60 cm long on the (sometimes unclothed) buttocks, calves and chest.
Apparently, he viewed the physical abuse as a kind of “punishment ritual”—a measure that sounds like it belongs to the last century. The affected doctoral candidate endured the violence and humiliation because her employer announced that otherwise the supervision of her dissertation would be terminated. In two incidents, he told her he wanted to “prepare her for a future job”. The PhD student then feared for her professional and financial future.
During the trial, the defence sought to create the impression that the victim must have been familiar with beatings as punishment rituals from her home country of Vietnam; a strategy that failed, not least because of its apparently racist and sexist basis—the court rejected the defence’s corresponding motions to take evidence.
The Regional Court of Göttingen (judgment of 30 March 2022, 1 KLs 11/19) sentenced the defendant to eleven months’ imprisonment, suspended on probation.
After a successful appeal by the public prosecutor’s office and the private accessory prosecutor, the judgment is now 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended on probation, for dangerous bodily harm in office (§ 340(1), (3) in conjunction with § 224(1) no. 2 alternative 2 German Criminal Code), coercion (§ 240 German Criminal Code) and unlawful deprivation of liberty (§ 239 German Criminal Code). In addition, the professor must pay a sum of money to the Göttingen women’s shelter as well as to the doctoral candidate and other affected women.
The increased sentencing range in § 340 German Criminal Code already makes it clear that civil servants occupy a special position in criminal law. The Thirtieth Section of the German Criminal Code (§§ 331 to 358) sets out the specific rules for public officials in detail.
But what do the perpetrators face, in addition to the criminal-law consequences, with regard to their civil-servant status?
The requirements for an actual removal from the civil service are high: a look at § 24 of the Civil Servants Status Act (BeamtStG) shows that civil servants only lose their status if they are finally convicted of an intentional offence and sentenced to at least one year’s imprisonment, or to at least six months’ imprisonment for certain state security offences or for taking bribes.
The corresponding consequences are governed by §§ 33 et seq. of the Lower Saxony Civil Service Act (NBG).
Pursuant to § 33(1) sentence 1 NBG, the former civil servant has no entitlement to benefits from the employer. This means that not only the salary, but also all pension entitlements, including survivors’ benefits, are lost. Those affected therefore no longer have pension entitlements and are covered retroactively under the statutory pension insurance scheme (§ 8(2) sentence 1 no. 1 of Book VI of the Social Code). Should the judgment of the Regional Court of Göttingen become final, the most recently convicted professor would have to expect such consequences.
The other two perpetrators faced milder consequences. The biology professor was sentenced only to six months’ imprisonment, suspended on probation, and may therefore continue to work at the university. The judgment is not yet final.
The professor of forest science and forest ecology, who had to answer before the Administrative Court, got off even more lightly. His pay grade was reduced by two levels and he has since earned €2,000 less per month; his civil-servant status also remains unaffected—according to the University of Göttingen’s press office, a judgment that was received “with great surprise”.