Germany’s Hidden Epidemic of Violence Explodes in Kita Region

Germany's Hidden Epidemic of Violence Explodes in Kita Region

The number of officially documented cases of violence in NRW-Kitas in North Rhine-Westphalia is increasing. According to the ‘Rheinische Post’ citing numbers compiled by the NRW Family Ministry in response to a small inquiry by the SPD state parliamentary group, a total of 1,206 reports of violence of various types were received by the two North Rhine-Westphalian state youth welfare offices in the first half of 2024. In the entire previous year of 2023, there were 1,943 documented cases, and in the entire year of 2022, there were 1,027.

In detail, the statistics show that there were a total of 654 reports of physical assaults and bodily harm in the first half of the year. In most cases, it was children who committed the violence, with 116 instances of violence committed by staff at the institutions. There were a total of 202 reports of sexual assaults or sexual violence in the first half of the year, with 159 instances committed by children, 39 by Kita staff, and a few by third parties.

In the previous year, a total of 343 cases were statistically recorded. Furthermore, the state youth welfare offices documented a total of 329 cases of ‘pedagogical malpractice’ in the first half of the year, with 539 documented cases in the entire year of 2023.

The SPD parliamentary group’s representative, Nina Andrieshen, said to the newspaper: ‘If we examine the current kindergarten policy and assume that overburdening is a breeding ground for violence, then the efforts of Minister Paul are heading in a fatal direction.’ Currently, more children are being supervised by fewer skilled staff. ‘This does not lead to a better situation in the kindergartens for children and staff, and the possibility of violent behavior may be given more room. This cannot be the case in the face of such numbers.’