Security in migrant homes in Germany has gone from bad to worse, and the result has been a boon to migrants who want to sexually abuse children.
The levels of sexual abuse of women and children in German asylum homes are reaching epidemic proportions according to new figures released by the German government.
After a request by Annette Groth of the left wing party Die Linke it was revealed that 128 women and children had been the victims of sexual abuse by fellow migrants in asylum homes in just the first 3 months of 2016. German abuse Commissioner Johannes Wilhelm Rörig has called on the German Federal government to act and enforce tougher standards in asylum homes, Die Welt reports.
The 128 figure only covers the number of cases reported to the Federal Abuse Commission while the total number of cases unreported is thought to be much higher – especially when it comes to the abuse of children. Many women who are victims of sexual assault, or have children that are victims, often do not report abuse for a number of reasons, including shame and culture, with many afraid that the reports may jeopardise their asylum applications.
In one of Germany’s largest asylum camps at the Templehof airport 1,200 migrants are housed along with 328 children in a disused airport hangar. Social worker Hans-Joachim Kretschmer says that while there have so far been no cases of reported sexual assault, he believes they are merely “lucky”.
Hannah Krunke, a Child Protection Officer at Templehof, is critical of the government’s response to security for young children at asylum homes saying “parents cannot adequately care for their children” because many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and other illnesses. Ms. Krunke went on to add that the close proximity of children to male migrants in the asylum homes means that no one thinks anything of men holding hands or hugging children, saying: “This is a paradise for traffickers and pedophiles.”
This is not the first time critics have voiced their disapproval of the German government’s handling of sexual abuse in asylum homes. Earlier this year Mr. Rörig made the claim that sexual abuse took place in every asylum home in Germany. He further added that the lax attitude from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition was intentional, in order to discourage any more migrants from coming to Germany.
High profile cases of abuse have also occurred in other European countries like Sweden where a 15-year-old boy was brutally raped by fellow migrants who lived with him at an asylum camp. Swimming pools have also become a hotspot for child sex abuse across Germany and Austria, in particular, where cases have reached such regularity that some pools have tried banning migrants altogether.