Germans debate responsibility for sexual assaults

Series Title
Series Details 06.01.16
Publication Date 06/01/2016
Content Type

The announcement by the German police on 4 January 2016 that about 90 women had reported being robbed, threatened or sexually molested at New Year celebrations in Cologne by young, mostly drunk, men shocked public opinion in the country.

Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed shock over the attacks that police said occurred when about 1,000 men split into gangs as officers cleared a square to stop fireworks being thrown from the top of steps into the crowd below.

The police described the event as a 'new dimension in crime'. The authorities also unveiled that many victims described the attackers as Arabs or North Africans, further heating up the debate regarding migration and the 'open borders' policy defended by Germany's government for refugees and asylum seekers.

By the 7 January 2016 the authorities said they had received more than 120 criminal complaints about robbery and sexual abuse including two reported rapes by perpetrators who allegedly staged orchestrated attacks on revellers in the crowds. By the 9 January 2016 police said that the number of cases reported to them had reached 379, about 40% of which involved allegations of sexual offences. This had risen to over 500 cases by the 10 January 2016.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) made facilitating deportation for asylum seekers who committed crimes an important facet of a new 10-point plan for the nation's future issued as the Mainz Declaration on the 9 January 2016.

Also on the 9 January 2016 police in Cologne broke up a protest by the 'anti-Islamisation' group PEGIDA. Water cannons were used to disperse demonstrators protesting after the New Year's Eve attacks on women.

Der Spiegel, and many other news and analysis sources in Germany and elsewhere, suggested that the incidents in Cologne, and to a lesser extent in other German cities, had launched a bitter debate over immigration and refugees in Germany - one that could change the country.

Source Link Link to Main Source http://www.euractiv.com/sections/justice-home-affairs/germans-debate-responsibility-sexual-assaults-320716
Related Links
EUObserver, 06.01.16: Sex assaults enflame German migration debate https://euobserver.com/migration/131719
Politico, 05.01.16: Merkel demands ‘firm response’ to mass attacks on women http://www.politico.eu/article/merkel-demands-firm-response-to-mass-attacks-women-scandal-cologne/
Deutsche Welle, 05.01.16: A 'new dimension' of sexual assault in Cologne http://dw.com/p/1HYB9
The Guardian, 05.01.16: Cologne inquiry into 'coordinated' New Year's Eve sex attacks http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/05/germany-crisis-cologne-new-years-eve-sex-attacks
France24, 06.01.16: Cologne mass sexual assaults fuel refugee tensions in Germany http://www.france24.com/en/20160106-cologne-mass-sexual-assaults-tensions-germany
The New York Times, 05.01.16: Reports of Attacks on Women in Germany Heighten Tension Over Migrants http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/world/europe/coordinated-attacks-on-women-in-cologne-were-unprecedented-germany-says.html
Deutsche Welle, 04.01.16: String of New Year's Eve sexual assaults outrages Cologne http://dw.com/p/1HXva
The Local.de, 04.01.16: Cover-up claim over NYE mass sexual assaults http://www.thelocal.de/20160104/refugees-blamed-for-mass-sexual-assault-in-cologne
BBC News, 05.01.16: Germany shocked by Cologne New Year gang assaults on women http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35231046
EurActiv, 07.01.16: Deportation mooted for Cologne sexual attackers http://www.euractiv.com/sections/justice-home-affairs/deportation-mooted-cologne-sexual-attackers-320757
Germany: Federal Government: News, 06.01.16: Attacks in Cologne. Angela Merkel demands the full force of the law http://www.bundesregierung.de/Content/EN/Artikel/2016/01_en/2015-01-05-merkel-zu-koeln_en.html
EUObserver, 08.01.16: Merkel: Sexual assaults raise 'serious questions' https://euobserver.com/justice/131754
Spiegel Online International, 07.01.16: Cologne Assaults: Police Report Outlines 'Chaotic and Shameful' New Year's Eve http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/cologne-attacks-on-new-years-produced-chaos-say-police-a-1070894.html
Euro|Topics: Main Focus, 07.01.16: Assaults in Cologne: police looking for culprits http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/archiv_dossier/DOSSIER175805-Assaults-in-Cologne-police-looking-for-culprits
Deutsche Welle, 07.01.16: Merkel says Cologne NYE assaults will have far-reaching consequences http://dw.com/p/1HZwi
The Local.de, 07.01.16: Cologne still tense in wake of sexual assaults http://www.thelocal.de/20160107/cologne-still-tense-in-wake-of-sexual-assults
EurActiv, 08.01.16: Merkel promises firm action after 'intolerable' Cologne assaults http://www.euractiv.com/sections/justice-home-affairs/merkel-promises-firm-action-after-intolerable-cologne-assaults-320785
Politico, 07.01.16: ‘Frau Merkel invited me’ http://www.politico.eu/article/refugee-cologne-sex-attack-frau-merkel-de-maiziere-rape/
Deutsche Welle, 09.01.16: Cologne New Year assault reports more than double in number http://dw.com/p/1HanB
BBC News, 09.01.16: Cologne attacks: Merkel proposes tougher migrant laws http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35271171
Deutsche Welle, 09.01.16: German police fire water cannons to disperse protesters amid clashes in Cologne http://dw.com/p/1Haju
EUObserver, 08.01.16: [Analysis]: How the Cologne assaults stunned authorities and media https://euobserver.com/social/131744
The Local.de, 09.01.16: Violence erupts at Cologne Pegida demo http://www.thelocal.de/20160109/violence-erupts-at-cologne-far-right-demo
Spiegel Online International, 08.01.16: Chaos and Violence: How New Year's Eve in Cologne Has Changed Germany http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/cologne-attacks-trigger-raw-debate-on-immigration-in-germany-a-1071175.html
ESO: Information Guide: European Migration Challenges http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-migration-challenges/
ESO: Background information: Merkel pressured by own camp to change course on refugees / Berlin and Vienna try to put brakes on refugee influx http://www.europeansources.info/record/merkel-pressured-by-own-camp-to-change-course-on-refugees-berlin-and-vienna-try-to-put-brakes-on-refugee-influx/
Deutsche Welle, 10.01.16: Cologne New Year's Eve complaints rise sharply http://dw.com/p/1Hb3C
The Conversation, 08.01.16: Sex attacks row forces Merkel to defend her policies from racism https://theconversation.com/sex-attacks-row-forces-merkel-to-defend-her-policies-from-racism-52912
Deutsche Welle, 09.07.16: A study contradicts efforts to link migrants to crime http://dw.com/p/1JMKc

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