Germany calls for Tougher Asylum Laws after Rise in Sex Offences

The 2015 waves of refugees saw more than 800,000 migrate into Germany in late 2015 alone, with the final figure resting this week at 1.1 million. Primarily, Germany and a few Northern countries are accommodating the refugees in the EU. German Chancellor Merkal has stood by her choice to allow tens of thousands of refugees into Germany, saying it’s the “right thing to do.”

But the right thing to do may have had repercussions; as Merkel released a plan this week for Germany’s future, in the wake of sexual crimes peaking in the city of Cologne. The Christian Democrats (CDU), one of Germany’s ruling parties, has moved toward stronger asylum laws, expediting deportation for migrants who commit a crime. Under the current laws, only those serving three or more years are deported.

“The most important thing is that the facts about what happened [in Cologne] are spoken about openly and bluntly. Terrible things happened, and we must respond to them,” Merkel told members of the CDU at a meeting in Mainz. “These are abominable, criminal acts…which Germany will not tolerate,” she had said, following the attacks on women in Cologne on December 31.

The “serious questions,” Merkel refer to are the groups of North African and Arab-looking men caught molesting and robbing more than 100 women in Cologne. Some have questioned the open-door policy for refugees in line with the attacks.

Reports from dw.com have closely documented Merkel’s response to the situation. “Nearly 1,000 men of North African and Arab origin are reported to have divided themselves into smaller groups and robbed and sexually harassed women at Cologne’s central station on New Year’s Eve. Similar incidents occurred on a far smaller scale in Hamburg and Stuttgart.”

At the same time, Norway have introduced classes to non-European asylum seekers, in Western sexual norms and social mores. The controversial classes are now being used as a model for other countries in Europe in hopes to lower attacks on women. In October, Denmark was considering similar classes to teach national attitudes toward sex and consent, after three asylum seekers were charged with raping a 25 year old woman.

Refugees enter an arrival center northern Norway, Getty Images      

Belgium announced a similar program this week. It has been denied that this will “stigmatize those seeking asylum,” said Theo Francken, Minister for Immigration, an MP for the Flemish Nationalist Party. “”They will consist of a series of rules on how to behave with women in both a general and sexual sense in our Western culture.”

Theo Francken, Getty Images      

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