Shocking study: 13% of Germans experienced sexual violence!
Shocking study: 13% of Germans experienced sexual violence!
A current study by the Mannheim Central Institute for Mental Health (ZI) throws an alarming light on the topic of sexual violence against children and adolescents in Germany. Almost 13 percent of Germans report that they have become victims of such acts in their childhood or youth, which corresponds to around 5.7 million people between the ages of 18 and 59. These results come from the first nationwide, representative examination on this topic, which was carried out in 2024. Of 10,000 contacts contacted more than 3,000 participated in the survey, such as reported.
Psychiatrist Harald Dreßing, one of the responsible researchers, commented on the high number of those affected and described them as "frighteningly high". The study also shows that women are significantly more common at 20.6 percent than men, of whom only 4.8 percent reported sexual violence. The high proportion (27.4 percent) of affected women in the age group of 18-29 year olds is particularly alarming.
contexts of violence and digital risks
The study shows that sexual violence often takes place in a family environment or through relatives. It is not just the physical world that catches up with: almost 32 percent of the survey participants stated that they had experienced sexual violence over the Internet and social media. Over 60 percent of those who have suffered sexual violence in the real world also report similar experiences in the digital world. This underlines the need to integrate the online world into prevention concepts, as well as presseportal.de
The study also showed that 37.4 percent of the surveyed did not shared violent experiences, often out of fear or shame. "The psychological consequences are serious," said ZI director Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg. They see the negative effects of the experiences on mental health, which agreed around 90 percent of those affected. Tragically, almost half of all respondents would have little or no knowledge of offers of help.
prevention and support
The study also emphasized the responsibility of institutions. "Wildwasser Stuttgart" offers, for example, support for women who were abused in childhood. Dreßing called for an intensification of the educational work and the development of suitable prevention concepts, especially for churches, sports clubs and other educational institutions. Research on sexualized violence is not only necessary, but has been actively promoted by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) since 2011 to ensure better protection and prevention, such as empirical-bildung research-bmbf.de shown.
Overall, the study shows that a sharpened awareness and appropriate measures are essential to effectively protect children and adolescents from sexual violence. Finally, protection against such acts is a task that requires solutions in education, education and prevention.
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| Ort | Mannheim, Deutschland |
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