In the German State of Saxony, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has advocated for legislation that would make ungracious behaviour and lewd verbal remarks a criminal offence.
According to the SPD, men who engaged in crude talk, catcalling, or other forms of verbal sexual harassment should face criminal penalties — even in the absence of physical contact.
This initiative, led by the Social Democratic Women’s Working Group (ASF), was unanimously approved at a State party conference over the weekend of June 20 and was set to be presented at the SPD’s federal party congress in Berlin at the end of June.
The motion called for anyone who “significantly harasses” another person in a sexually motivated manner, either verbally or non-verbally, to be punished with a fine or imprisonment of up to one year, newspaper Bild reported.
With the proposal, the SPD aimed to close perceived existing legal gaps, as current laws only apply if such behaviour was clearly defamatory or insulting.
Pia Heine, an SPD city councillor in Leipzig, emphasised the need for change, stating that many women felt “almost defenceless” under the current legal framework.
“Catcalling is everyday life for many women and is clearly different from possibly polite compliments,” she said.
Critics noted that the motion was based on perception and difficult to objectively asses. Even just looking at a woman could be perceived as insulting and cause difficult issues.
At the same party conference, the SPD also agreed to call on the national parliament, the Senate and the federal government, to ban the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD).
“The time to act is now. Every day we see how the AfD attacks our democracy, divides our society and deliberately undermines the fundamental values of our country. Resolute action against this far-right party is necessary,” Henning Homann, co-chairman of the SPD Saxony said.
In the latest polls in Saxony, the SPD was hovering around 7 per cent.
The party is part of a minority government together with the Christian Democrats and has 10 seats in the 120-seat State parliament.
Es wäre so wild, wenn Sachsen-Anhalt das erste Land wäre, aus dem die SPD verschwindet. pic.twitter.com/DVeg5dmaB6
— Felix (@WolfDesNordens) June 23, 2025
