Saarland gets a child protection law
Saarland wants to better protect children against sexual violence, abuse and neglect with a child protection law. The first such law in the state is intended to strengthen the rights of children and young people. It was passed unanimously on Wednesday with the AfD abstaining.
"We probably won't be able to prevent everything", said Social Affairs Minister Magnus Jung (SPD). However, the law aims to ensure that abuse occurs less frequently and that help can be provided earlier.
The law establishes the office of an independent child protection officer. In future, child daycare facilities and schools will have to draw up protection concepts. The Ministry of Education will provide a framework for this. A "contact and complaints office for sexualized violence in schools" is also to be set up at the ministry as a "low-threshold contact point". "We are expanding child protection, embedding it in society and thus strengthening it in the long term," said Education Minister Christine Streichert-Clivot (SPD).
The law also allows for an "intercollegial exchange" between doctors if they suspect that a child's welfare is at risk during treatment. They can discuss the case with other colleagues even without being released from their duty of confidentiality.
"The Saarland is finally getting its own child protection law," said MP Alwin Theobald (CDU). He praised the fact that the government had responded to the opposition's demands, particularly in terms of "intercollegial exchange". Around 238 cases of sexual abuse were recorded in Saarland in 2022. Of these, 116 cases involved the abuse of children under the age of 14.
The new child protection law in Saarland will require Kindergartens and schools to develop protection concepts, as specified by the Ministry of Education. Parliament's passing of this law also includes the establishment of a "contact and complaints office for sexualized violence in schools."
Source: www.dpa.com
