The name Judo translates roughly as "the gentle way". It is a sport that defines itself as a "philosophy of personality development", a sport that relies on the principle of "victory and yielding".
And this sport in Berlin is currently shaken by serious allegations of abuse.
A 42-year-old judo teacher has been in custody since Monday. He is accused of having abused children and adolescents aged 10 to 16 in at least 23 cases - cases that are said to have occurred between the year 2006 and 2018. This year, parents have turned to the child protection officer of the Landessportbund in Berlin. That started the investigation and arrest of the man.
"This case shakes us all and makes us deeply affected," says the director of the Landessportbundes, Friedhard Teuffel the RBB. According to Teuffel it is about "clear criminal charges". The accused had been at home in Berlin's judo scene for many years. He had founded a judo association in Tegel in 2007 and worked there in various capacities, including as chairman and trainer. Police and prosecutors said after the case was revealed on Thursday, the abuses were, so the state of knowledge, "in the context of training, from tournament appearances and alleged" educational measures. "The investigators speak of some severe abuse.
"The physicality offers attack surfaces"
The Berlin judo association responded with a short statement: "The judo association Berlin stands firmly for the protection of children and young people and expects from all member clubs compliance with the law, the DJB code of honor and our Judowerte", formulated CEO René Duvinage.
Among other things, the investigators have to clarify how it could be that the man, if the allegations were correct, could carry out sexual violence for twelve years, without it being brought to light and being punished. On the one hand, although the sensitivity to the topic has grown in recent years, it seems, or even in sport, to be a laborious way of getting sexual abuse out of taboo. Added to this is the power relationship that coaches have vis-à-vis children in sport.
"We know very well that the fascination of sport comes from physicality," says Teuffel, "but this physicality and the physical proximity also have an attack surface". For a long time now, the Landessportbund has offered training courses for associations and associations that emphasize the special importance of working with children and adolescents. In addition, they are working on the creation of a child protection seal, according to which "trainers and supervisors in the children and youth sector to submit an extended police certificate of good conduct".
In the case of judo coach, however, these measures come too late. Teuffel says: "Clubs need to look closely at a slight suspicion and ask what exactly is going on." That's not happened with this club, which was led by the accused himself and occupied thereby the power position in the association.
