'Booze, bullying and sexual harassment': Probe criticises historical abuses at Danish girls' choir

The offices of Danish public broadcaster DR
The offices of Danish public broadcaster DR Copyright Credit: AFP
Copyright Credit: AFP
By AP
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The Danish Broadcasting Corporation apologised to those affected.

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An investigation has concluded that between 1970 and 2010 a culture of sexual misconduct, occasions of heavy drinking and incidents of bullying were common at the Danish Radio Girls’ Choir, made up of teenagers and young women.

The report, whose findings were published Wednesday, was based on interviews with 129 former choir members. The choir's members are between 15 and 22 years of age.

The Danish Broadcasting Corporation, the country's public broadcaster which runs the choir and is known by its acronym DR, said after the report came out that “a completely unacceptable culture" had been exposed. It apologised to those who had been affected.

“A number of former members of the Girls’ Choir have been subjected to abusive behaviour in the form of sexual harassment,” the broadcaster said. "DR sharply distances itself from this. There has also been a reprehensible handling of complaints on DR’s part in the past.”

The investigation was conducted by a law firm at the broadcaster's request.

The 34-page report concluded that most cases went back 20-50 years, though some incidents occurred later than that. No cases were uncovered after 2010.

No alleged perpetrators or victims were identified by name in the report.

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