Social Affairs Minister Carolina Trautner (CSU) wants to promote the protection of children from violence and abuse. A central component of this is to expand the offensive for child protection to clubs, day-care centers and facilities for the disabled and youth welfare. However, the corona pandemic is delaying the implementation of this offensive, as announced on Thursday in the state parliament’s social committee. “It is important to us that we stay on the ball,” said a representative from the ministry. But it is also a fact that a number of training courses on the effective and realistic implementation of protection concepts could not take place due to lockdown requirements. The same applies to specialist events. “Unfortunately, Corona intervened there too,” it said. The events should now take place in autumn. It is not only about the fact that the specialists in the facilities are appropriately qualified, but also that the protection concepts “are continuously developed with the participation of children and young people”, as Trautner explained when asked.
On the part of the Greens, however, there are concerns as to whether every facility actually has a concept that protects children and young people from assault and abuse. According to the legal situation, the operating permit for semi-stationary facilities such as day-care centers or for stationary facilities such as homes is linked to the fact that they can present a protection concept. “Is that really the case?” Asked the Green MP Johannes Becher. He is also interested in when the nationwide framework recommendations on child protection that are currently being drawn up can be expected. Thirdly, it is important to take a closer look at the clubs. Many of them do “incredibly valuable child labor”, many of them are also sensitized to the subject of child protection. “But not all of them,” stressed Becher, in connection with the question: “How do we get hold of them?”
The Greens’ request to scientifically record the risk situation of children with disabilities was rejected. According to the World Health Organization, they are four times more likely to experience violence than non-disabled people.