The corona pandemic has put a massive strain on family life in many cases. Statisticians also see this as a possible reason for the persistently high level of dangerous situations for children.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, almost 60,000 children and young people became victims of neglect or violence last year. This is the second highest level since the statistics were introduced in 2012, the Federal Office announced on Thursday in Wiesbaden. The highest level of cases of child endangerment was found in the first Corona year 2020.
In 2021, the offices registered 600 or one percent fewer cases. The statisticians explained that the additional burdens on families caused by the pandemic, such as fear of existence, limited leisure opportunities and distance learning, probably contributed to the persistently high level of the numbers.
Dark field is also likely to have grown
At the same time, the increasing abandonment of school and daycare closures in the second Corona year 2021 could have had a positive effect on child protection, so that the numbers had fallen slightly. However, it cannot be ruled out that the dark field – cases that are not known – will also have grown in 2021.
According to the information, the number of cases in which the authorities, after examining the suspicion, did not identify a danger to the welfare of the child, but found a need for help rose to a high of 67,700 in 2021. This happened almost two percent more often than in the previous year.
Of the 59,948 registered victims of child abuse, 49 percent were under the age of eight and 25 percent were under the age of four. Boys were affected slightly more often up to the age of eleven, and girls from the age of twelve.
Signs of neglect were found in 45 percent of the cases, and in just under a fifth (18 percent) of psychological abuse. Signs of physical abuse were found in 13 percent of cases, sexual violence in 4 percent, and multiple types of neglect and violence in one in five cases (21 percent). dpa
