Step in instead of looking away: what colleagues and managers can do (Germany)

Matthias Linke Matthias Linke
Updated: 13.11.2026 · 3 min read

In short

Anyone who sees harassment at work can speak to the person affected, interrupt the situation, get help or offer support later. The wishes of the person affected and your own safety come first. Playing it down and blaming the victim do harm. Under section 12 of the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), the duty to protect lies with the employer: it must prevent discrimination and stop breaches. The complaints body, the works council and the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency advise further. As of 13 November 2026, not legal advice.

Why many look away

Darley and Latané's 1968 study on bystander intervention in emergencies found that the more other witnesses a person assumes, the less often and the later that person helps. They call this diffusion of responsibility: felt responsibility spreads across everyone present. It studied emergencies, not offices; applying it to harassment is an assumption. Section 16 of the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) forbids the employer to disadvantage employees for asserting their rights, including supporters and witnesses. According to IAB Short Report 9/2025, about 38 per cent of establishments with 50 or more employees have neither a complaints procedure nor prevention.

How to step in: the 5 Ds

The organisation Right To Be describes five options. Distract: address the person affected directly without raising the harassment. Delegate: ask a third person for help; involve the police only at the affected person's express wish. Document: take notes or recordings only if the person is already getting help and you are safe. Delay: speak to the person afterwards and offer help. Direct: name the behaviour briefly, which is risky and needs everyone to be safe.

Support the person affected

Victim blaming shifts responsibility to the person affected. In law the breach lies in the conduct (section 7(3) AGG), and under section 16(2) rejecting or tolerating discrimination may not be the basis for decisions against employees. What helps: listen, believe, ask what is needed, name options, leave the decision with the person. A GEW report on the 2019 ADS study (1,531 telephone interviews) says only about 4 per cent of those affected sought professional support and around 40 per cent did not know internal complaints bodies exist.

What managers must do

Under section 12 AGG, the employer must take necessary preventive measures, point out the prohibition, act on breaches with suitable, necessary and appropriate measures, protect staff from third parties and publicise the AGG and the complaints bodies. Under section 14, those affected may stop work without losing pay if the employer does nothing. Claims must be asserted in writing within two months (section 15(4) AGG). An amendment bill (printed paper 21/6178) had not been passed on 13 November 2026.

Where to get help

"Violence against Women" helpline: 116 016, free, anonymous, around the clock.
Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (ADS): you can turn to it under section 27 AGG.
Works council: support and complaints under sections 84 and 85 of the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG).
Complaints body (section 13 AGG) and legal advice. This is not legal advice.

This is a summary. The full German article with all details is at the same address under the German site.

Frequently asked questions

What is the bystander effect?

The bystander effect describes that people help less often and later the more other witnesses they assume are present. Darley and Latané studied this in emergencies in 1968 and spoke of diffusion of responsibility: the felt responsibility is spread across everyone present. How far this carries over to harassment in the office is not shown by this study; it is a plausible assumption.

Are colleagues legally obliged to step in?

Under its wording, the duty to protect in section 12 AGG is addressed to the employer, not to individual employees. A general duty to step in cannot be read from the AGG. Whether other provisions or contractual duties apply in an individual case is a legal question. The works council, a trade union or legal advice can help.

What if the person affected does not want to report anything?

Their wish counts, not least because Right To Be advises involving the police or recordings only with their consent. Offer rather than push: listen, name advice, offer to accompany them. Managers are in a different position, because the duty to protect under section 12 AGG applies to the employer regardless of a formal complaint. How they then act should be clarified legally.

What must managers do when they learn of harassment?

Under section 12 AGG, the employer must take the necessary protective measures and, in case of breaches, suitable, necessary and appropriate measures such as a warning, reassignment, transfer or dismissal. Complaints received must be examined under section 13 AGG and the outcome communicated. For this, managers involve HR, the complaints body and the works council.

What does victim blaming mean?

Victim blaming, in German also Täter-Opfer-Umkehr, means that responsibility for a person's conduct is sought with the person affected, for example by asking about clothing, behaviour or a delayed reaction. In law the breach lies in the harassing conduct. Also, tolerating discrimination may not be the basis for decisions against employees (section 16(2) AGG).

Are witnesses protected from disadvantage?

Under section 16 AGG, the employer may not disadvantage employees because they assert rights under the AGG. The protection extends to people who support them and to witnesses. It says nothing about disadvantage by individual colleagues; in a dispute, legal advice makes sense.

Sources

Darley, J. M. und Latané, B., American Psychological Association: Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8(4), 377-383) (1968), retrieved 13 Nov 2026
Fischer, P. u. a., American Psychological Association; Eintrag im Publikationsserver der Universität Regensburg: The bystander-effect: A meta-analytic review on bystander intervention in dangerous and non-dangerous emergencies (Psychological Bulletin, 137(4), 517-537) (2011), retrieved 13 Nov 2026
Right To Be (früher Hollaback!): The 5Ds of Bystander Intervention (None), retrieved 13 Nov 2026
Right To Be: Bystander Intervention in the Workplace (Trainingsangebot) (None), retrieved 13 Nov 2026
Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz / Bundesamt für Justiz, gesetze-im-internet.de: Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (AGG), §§ 3, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 27 (2006), retrieved 13 Nov 2026
lxgesetze.de (Abdruck des Gesetzestextes): Betriebsverfassungsgesetz (BetrVG), §§ 84, 85 (Gesetzestext, Abdruck) (2024), retrieved 13 Nov 2026
Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB); Götz, Isphording, Jessen, Wolter: Sexuelle Belästigung am Arbeitsplatz. Zwei von zehn Beschäftigten berichten von Vorfällen im eigenen Arbeitsumfeld (IAB-Kurzbericht 9/2025) (2025), retrieved 13 Nov 2026
Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW): Jede elfte Person im Job sexuell belästigt (Meldung über die ADS-Studie 2019) (2019), retrieved 13 Nov 2026
Deutscher Bundestag: Gesetzentwurf zur Änderung des Allgemeinen Gleichbehandlungsgesetzes, Drucksache 21/6178 (2026), retrieved 13 Nov 2026

General information about German law and conditions, not legal advice. Legal position and figures: see “Updated” above and the retrieval dates of the sources.

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