GERMANY
Deutsche Welle
A new study reveals that almost every seventh German has experienced sexual abuse during childhood. The German commissioner for child abuse says politicians must devote more resources to prevention.
Experts had hoped that the numbers would drop, but a recent representative studyconducted by the department of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Ulm in southern Germany reveals the opposite. In 2011, about 12 percent of interviewees reported experiences of sexual abuse during childhood. An increase from 15.2 to 18 percent was documented for women. The 9.5 percent for men did not change compared to 2011. Researchers spoke to 2,500 representative German interviewees ages 14 to 94. In an interview with DW, the independent commissioner responsible for questions relating to child sexual abuse, Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig, said that political decision makers have not yet realized how urgent the matter is.
DW: Mr. Rörig, were you surprised about the increase in cases?
Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig: No, I was not surprised that there was no drop in numbers. Neither police crime statistics nor research on unreported cases has indicated any sort of decline. Commitment to the protection of children and adolescents from sexual abuse has become stronger but we have not yet reached the point where we have nationwide protection. And because we do not make use of all the possible options, the number of incidents remains high.
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