Germans Outraged By Mayor’s Advice For Women After Raft Of Harassment
By Niraj Chokshi January 6 at 3:30 PM
The mayor of Cologne on Wednesday offered some poorly received advice to female residents of her city after a wave of New Year's Eve attacks that shocked Germany.
"There’s always the possibility of keeping a certain distance of more than an arm’s length — that is to say to make sure yourself you don’t look to be too close to people who are not known to you, and to whom you don’t have a trusting relationship," Henriette Reker said, according to Britain's Guardian newspaper.
Her advice, offered in response to a question about what women in Cologne can do to protect themselves, came during a news conference at which Reker issued her first public comments over reports from about 90 women alleging sexual harassment and thefts on New Year's Eve.
[Sexual assaults challenge Germany’s welcoming attitude toward refugees]
A crowd of about 1,000 men — described by the city's police chief as being "largely from the North African or Arab world" — had reportedly gathered outside the main train station that night. Small groups broke away from that crowd throughout the night to surround and harass women. At least 106 criminal complaints have been filed,up from 90 on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
"At least three quarters have a sexual component. In two cases we are investigating crimes that amount to rape," Cologne police spokesman Christoph Gilles said. Previous reports cited officials saying the majority of complaints cited thefts.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/01/06/after-wave-of-attacks-german-mayor-warns-women-to-keep-strangers-at-arms-length/
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