As of: February 23, 2024, 9:07 p.m
By: Stephanie Uehlein
Comments
Press
Split
There are many children among those affected by sexual violence, as the statistics from the Weilheim-based advice center show.
© Patrick Pleul/dpa (symbolic photo)
Sexual violence affects children as well as young people and adults.
This is also evident in the work of the “Network against Sexual Violence” advice center in Weilheim.
His team wants to offer those affected a safe space to talk, accompany them and strengthen them.
Weilheim
– Two of the four consultants who work at the “Network against Sexual Violence” (each part-time) quickly made it clear in a press interview: Working with people who have experienced sexualized violence requires a lot of empathy.
This is also because those affected “feel ashamed to seek help,” as Constanze Off says.
In the protected space that the contact point offers, says Off's colleague Elisabeth Carr, it can be observed that people are opening up.
Those affected can be sure that the counselors are always on the side of the victims, explains Off.
“We are partial,” is their clear statement.
As was made clear in the press conference, those affected often wrongly believe that it is their own fault that they have become victims of sexual violence.
It's not just about current cases
During their work, the team of consultants is confronted with very different cases.
Carr and Off explain that sexual violence in marriage is just as much an issue as abuse of children and young people, where the perpetrators often come from close social circles.
The consultants face current cases as well as bad experiences from further back.
Employees and board members of the “Network Against Sexual Violence” grouped themselves around a colorful picture with which a young person seeking advice expressed herself: (front from left) the consultants Elisabeth Carr and Constanze Off and (back from left) the board members Angelika Flock and Rautgunde Lammerer and office manager Martha Rauscher.
Not in the picture: board member Ulrike Leimig and consultants Christina Auer and Michael Kosler.
© Rudder
The “Network Against Sexual Violence” pays particular attention to the increasing spread of pornographic content by those under 21, as can be seen from its 2023 annual report.
It also states that the Internet is being used more and more frequently to plan, prepare and carry out sexual crimes.
Last year, 72 affected people (60 of them female) were included in the advice center's statistics (2022: 64, 2021: 95).
32 of them were up to twelve years old, 21 belonged to the group of 13 to 17 year olds, and 19 were adults.
Not everyone affected received personal advice (this is especially true for children).
Their relatives and educational professionals also turned to the contact point for help because they knew about sexual violence or suspected such a case.
Men are also part of the counseling center’s target group
The advisory team's target group also explicitly includes men who are affected by sexual violence.
If you wish, you will be looked after by a man.
My news
2 hours ago
3,000 households without electricity: Excavator damages line near Weilheim - fire in the SOS Children's Village
2 hours ago
Fire in Weilheim apartment building: attic apartment uninhabitable
DB announces renovation work on the Ammerseebahn and Pfaffenwinkelbahn - months of closures planned read
A tree that defines the cityscape is felled “at night and in fog”.
The town of Hohenpeißenberglesen only came into being as a result of mining
Old Town Festival as an alternative to New Year's Eve fireworks?
City councilors reject the application
In 2023, the “Network Against Sexual Violence” not only recorded great demand for advice, but also for prevention offers.
Off also uses the example of sexual assaults (such as grabbing someone's bottom or crotch) to make it clear how important prevention work is, to which young people are often exposed on a daily basis.
Reached many people through prevention courses
In order to prevent such incidents, the advice center offers training courses that reached 1,080 people last year: 700 students, 150 parents, 150 professionals in daycare centers and 80 teachers.
The prevention courses should enable children and young people to “recognize their own needs and to feel and name their limits,” as the annual report states.
Sexual violence can begin “with looks, gestures and even words,” even if such behavior is not always punishable.
“I’m okay, I’m normal.”
The report also shows how important public relations work is to the “Network against Sexual Violence”: This work makes it possible to send valuable signals to those affected, it is said.
They could recognize something like this: “What happened to me is not okay – I’m okay, I’m normal – what happened to me is abnormal. I don’t have to be ashamed” – and “there are people who who listen to me."
Insights that might make the step to counseling easier.
Advice from the “Network against Sexual Violence”
The advice provided by the “Network against Sexual Violence” is aimed primarily at those seeking advice (those affected, their caregivers and specialists, especially from daycare centers) from the Weilheim-Schongau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen districts.
The offer is free for this target group.
“Netz” employees are required to maintain confidentiality regarding advice, which can also be provided anonymously if requested.
If necessary, further help will be provided.
The work of the contact point is financed by the districts of Weilheim-Schongau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen as well as by the Bavarian Ministry of Social Affairs and from our own resources, which is why donations for the work are welcome.
The Weilheim & Oberland advice center can be reached on 0881/927922-94.
Online information: beratungsstelle-netz.de.
By the way: Everything from the region is also available in our regular Weilheim-Penzberg newsletter.