Sexual offenses - Police register more than 16,000 cases of child abuse in 2023
The number of reported cases of child and adolescent sexual abuse has increased in the past year. However, this finding alone is not alarming, as stated in the "Federal Situation Report on Sex Crimes to the Detriment of Children and Adolescents" 2023.
According to this report, the police identified 16,375 cases last year where children were sexually abused – an increase of 5.5% compared to the previous year. In the same period, 1,200 cases were reported where adolescents were sexually abused. The number of cases involving child pornography increased by 7.4% to approximately 45,000 cases, mainly due to numerous tips from abroad.
Child Abuse: Many Cases Remain Undetected
The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) notes in the situation report that the number of discovered cases of child abuse is strongly related to police investigative activities and reporting behavior. As stated in the situation report, "Given the increasing police activity in this field in recent years, it is likely that there has been a clarification of the dark field."
The BKA also points out that many cases where potential crime scenes could not be identified in Germany due to tips mainly from the US do not appear in the statistics. The reason for some investigations being fruitless is the suspension of mandatory data retention of telecommunications traffic data – specifically IP addresses – in Germany.
Images and videos of sexually abused children and adolescents are shared thousands of times on the internet.
Interior Minister Faeser for Indiscriminate Data Retention
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) and the BKA have been advocating for a new legally compliant regulation for indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data of telecommunications for some time. They criticize that some providers no longer store data, making it impossible to access any information for investigations.
In April, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) reached an agreement on the Quick-Freeze procedure. Under this procedure, data is only stored when there is a significant suspicion of a criminal offense. The agreement within the federal government on this matter is still ongoing. The old regulation for data retention had not been used since 2017 due to legal uncertainties.
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- Despite the increase in reported cases of child and sexual abuse, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) acknowledges that many instances remain undetected due to limited police investigative activities and reporting behavior in the "dark field".
- The BKA's 2023 situation report highlights that some investigations into child abuse cases in Germany have been hindered by the suspension of mandatory data retention of telecommunications traffic data, specifically IP addresses.
- In response to these challenges, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and the BKA have been advocating for a new regulation to support indiscriminate retention of telecommunications traffic and location data to aid in investigations.
- Critics argue that some providers no longer store data, making it difficult to access any information for investigations, prompting the need for a new legally compliant regulation.
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