abuse
Study on sexual violence among the Boy Scouts
The Association of Boy Scouts was founded in 1976, says it is interdenominational and non-partisan and has around 30,000 members. photo
© Fredrik von Erichsen/dpa
Thousands of children and young people in Germany are in the Boy Scouts. There were sexual assaults there too. These have now been examined for the first time in a nationwide study.
The Boy Scouts in Germany work on dealing with sexual issues Abuse occurs within their own ranks. A study on the topic is to be presented in Munich today. According to the Association of Boy Scouts (BdP), this is the first such investigation in Germany that relates to a youth association.
According to the BdP, the results differ from similar studies from previous years “on church contexts”. “Nevertheless, it turns out that youth associations were also overwhelmed when it came to dealing with cases of sexual violence,” said the association, which and its members and former members “are still struggling with the consequences of the crimes committed.”
The “dynamics of sexualized violence in a youth organization” are “very difficult and initially difficult to understand,” also because boundary violations and attacks are often committed by teenagers or young adults. Group leaders may also have been affected themselves – and at the same time were responsible for protecting younger Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts from abuse.
Focus on years between 1976 and 2006
The study was carried out by the Institute for Practical Research and Project Consulting (IPP) in Munich, which, among other things, investigated sexual violence in the Odenwald School and in the Upper Bavarian Catholic monastery Ettal, together with “Dissens – Institute for Education and Research” in Berlin. The focus of the study is on the years between 1976 and 2006.
The Association of Boy Scouts was founded in 1976, says it is interdenominational and non-partisan and has around 30,000 members. The aim of his educational work should be to convey to children and young people “a sense of community and responsibility, cosmopolitanism and environmental awareness”.