As of: February 29, 2024, 4:12 p.m
By: Michelle Brey
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The symbol of the Association of German Girl Scouts (BdP) on a neckerchief.
A study has now revealed numerous cases of abuse.
© Lukas Barth/dpa
Research data sheds light on cases of abuse among Boy Scouts.
The focus is on a period of 30 years.
The authors named the “riskiest places.”
Frankfurt – campfire, adventure, fun together with other children in nature: those who go to the Boy Scouts expect things like these.
But a study has now published frightening facts: There have been numerous cases of abuse among the Boy Scouts in Germany in the past.
Researchers also assume that the number of unreported cases is high.
The church also has to deal with cases of sexual abuse.
Period of 30 years: Study brings to light numerous cases of abuse
The investigation at a glance
The Institute for Practical Research and Project Consulting (IPP) will present the study on Thursday (February 29).
The IPP carried out the study together with “Dissens – Institute for Education and Research” in Berlin.
The focus of the study is on the years between 1976 and 2006. It is a “research process lasting almost three years,” write the authors.
The “extent and manifestations of sexualized violence” are described using interviews and file material.
The investigation is based on at least 50 suspects and 123 affected people in the Association of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts (BdP).
According to the study, there are also 24 accused and 26 affected.
Although these come from the “Boy Scout context”, they do not belong to the association.
According to the scientists, just as many girls as boys were affected.
However, the perpetrators are almost exclusively male.
According to the study, there are “two prototypes”: the older, adult scout and the teenager or young adult “who uses his position as a leadership figure to sexually exploit younger people.”
The researchers suspect a “large dark field” – among other things because no information at all was provided from some federal states.
The study literally states that the 149 affected people mentioned represent “a minimum number”.
“Difference to other crime contexts”: IPP illustrates the difference to cases of abuse in the church
The “riskiest places,” according to the study, were Boy Scout camps, trips and tribal meetings.
There were attacks “in the context of games and rituals,” but also in private situations.
For example, when children and young people were driven home.
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The situation with the Boy Scouts is “very specific,” said Peter Caspari from the IPP on Thursday, and difficult to compare with that in the Catholic Church, for example.
Here “very young people are caught in situations of responsibility”.
This is a “big difference to other crime contexts such as the Catholic Church, where there were clear hierarchies of adults who did not live up to their responsibilities”.
The Association of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts comments on the results of the study
“We are shocked at how many places the BdP has failed to protect its members from sexualized violence and (power) abuse in the past,” said BdP federal chairwoman Annika Schulz.
“People remained silent and looked the other way.” Caspari becomes clearer: dealing with those affected was “characterized by ignorance.”
“Out of sight, out of mind.”
According to the federal government, this is the first such investigation in Germany that relates to a youth association.
The BdP was founded in 1976.
According to its own statements, it is interdenominational and non-partisan and reaches around 30,000 members.
The aim of his educational work should be to convey to children and young people “a sense of community and responsibility, cosmopolitanism and environmental awareness”.
In 2023, an allegation of abuse also shocked the Evangelical Church.
That resulted in a resignation.