Tag Archives: Cologne

Gender, Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Germany Feature | Women & Refugees

Securing Women’s Bodies in Germany

On New Year’s Eve, hundreds of women were grabbed and sexually assaulted by a group of mostly Algerian and Moroccan men during holiday festivities in Cologne. In the fallout, a contentious international debate exploded, impacted by ongoing tension over Germany’s refugee policy. While both sides have accused the other of information distortion for political purposes, some feminists have shifted the focus to the lax laws that enable such sexual assaults to take place, arguing that such violence has been a problem since long before refugees arrived. With a mere 13% of rape cases resulting in conviction, advocates have sought to change laws that require evidence of overwhelming offensive and defensive physical force for a case to be considered rape. BuzzFeed News examines the intersection of sexism, racism, xenophobia, and feminism in the fight to secure women’s sexual agency and refugee integration in Germany.

Read more:
“Why The New Year’s Attacks On Women In Germany Weren’t Even A Crime” (BuzzFeed News)

Additional reading:
“Germany tightens rape law in wake of Cologne assaults” (AFP via The Local)
“Germany to tighten rape laws in wake of Cologne attacks” (The Independent)

(Image Credit: Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images, via BuzzFeed News)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Germany Feature | Refugees

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Germany’s New Growing Pains

In the wake of mass sexual assaults carried out on New Year’s Eve by a small group of Arab and other North African men in Cologne, refugees and their German supporters are having to confront difficult integration issues with the country’s now massive numbers of new residents. Migrants scramble to distance themselves from the criminal behavior of a few and turned to educational programs to tackle cultural differences in everyday life. As far-right groups continue to intimidate immigrants new and old alike, The Guardian examines the challenges facing the new immigrant community.

“There was a big hype two months ago, when it was seen to be cool and trendy to go to a refugee centre and donate old clothes, but this hysteria of joy is now turning into a hysteria of frustration. Just giving a refugee a donated jumper will not turn them into a German citizen. That needs time and both sides must approach each other with flexibility.”

The full story:
“‘If we want Germans to accept Arabs, Arabs must also learn to accept them’” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images, via The Guardian)