German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has revealed a personal experience of sexual assault, saying she could recall the incident “vividly” decades after it took place.
In a podcast released on Wednesday, Baerbock said the #MeToo movement had prompted her to reflect on her own encounters with sexual harassment.
The foreign minister told the “G Spot mit Stefanie Giesinger” podcast that she remembered an incident that happened while she was on a bus during her school years.
Baerbock said an older man touched her on the leg. She was so shocked that she was unable to get off the bus for another five stops.
The episode was so shocking that she did not tell her mother about it. “I can still see it so vividly in my mind, although I had actually completely forgotten about it.”
The 44-year-old said she felt ashamed after the incident, and insisted that “shame must swap sides.”
Baerbock, whose Greens are fourth in the polls ahead of the German election on Sunday, said that she has experienced many similar incidents in her life, and that it was important to talk about them.
In the podcast, the minister also spoke about feminist foreign policy and her path into politics.
