German Imam blames Cologne rape victims; 'they wore perfume'

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From the article:

Activists say violence against women has been ignored for too long – whether the perpetrators are immigrants or native-born Germans.

Cologne, Germany — The victims of the sexual assaults on New Year’s Eve in Cologne and other German cities have figured as bit players, overshadowed by a raging debate over whether Germany has erred in accepting so many asylum seekers – 1.1 million last year.

But as the criminal complaints related to the attacks soar above 600 so far nationwide, the events in Cologne have also prompted a fresh look at sexism and violence against women in German society. The assaults have spurred a drive for tougher laws against offenders – immigrant or native – and the realization that even the most innocuous pass at a woman can no longer be tolerated.

“We have been blind in one eye,” says Alexander Bosch, a consultant for "hate crimes" for Amnesty International in Berlin. He says that reports of sexual assault have been documented for years at events like Carnival or Oktoberfest, but no one took it seriously until foreigners were believed to be involved. “We see the sexism of white guys, and we don’t talk about it.”

As this more nuanced article states, "no one took it seriously until foreigners were believed to be involved".

According to Federal Association of Rape Crisis Centers and Women’s Counseling Centers in Germany, between 2001 and 2012, Germany averaged 8,000 reports of sexual assault per year, but the number of those that were brought to court numbered only 1,300 annually. In that entire span, there were fewer than 1,000 prosecutions, and only 10 percent of those resulted in conviction.


An indication perhaps that in Germany, like the US, reports of rape are not taken seriously by the police or prosecutors?
This clip would give credence to that:


Writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine on Sunday, Antonia Baum says men are trying to downplay the victimization of women. “One doesn't want to tell the story because suddenly the men who are interested in it are the same ones who previously had brushed feminists off,” the writer says.

Finally,

Refugees are worried that these events will exacerbate anti-migrant sentiment, especially among women. A group of male Syrian refugees distributed fliers on the University of Cologne campus today condemning the attacks and apologizing for the criminal actions.
“These criminal actions stomped all over our cultural values – values which naturally include respect for women and men,” their flier read.

Read more:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2016/0111/Cologne-attacks-Does-Germany-have-a-problem-with-sexual-assault-video

And then there's also the question of popular response, and whether women's experiences are being hijacked for political purposes.

Wizorek started a campaign in 2013 to use the hashtag "#aufschrei," or outcry, for women to share their experiences with stalking, harassment, assault and rape.


"Back then when #Aufschrei was big in the media and people talked about it ... a lot of people also tried to downplay the problems. They were saying, 'Well, but we've gotten so far and we have gender equity in Germany right now, we have a female chancellor, so what do you want?' All that kind of argument was going on," she told Michel.

"And those people are the ones who are now talking a lot about what has happened in Cologne. So they are using these stories and these experiences of the people who have been attacked in Cologne to only push forward with their racist agenda against migrants and refugees in Germany. And I think that's a huge problem."


http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/10/462558773/night-of-shame-week-of-soul-searching-cologne-attacks-divide-Germany

Once again the right wing, assisted by the corporate media, is using the very real issue of rape violence for political purposes.