A town in western
Germany banned male refugees from a swimming pool on Friday after
complaints of harassment from female bathers and staff. Markus
Schnapka, who heads the social affairs department in Bornheim, said
other visitors had complained of sexual harassment by men believed to
be living in a nearby asylum-seeker shelter
German
town bans male refugees from swimming pool
Bornheim,
near Cologne, announces ban after reports women were harassed by men
from asylum shelters, as ire towards migrants rises nationally
Reuters in Bornheim
Friday 15 January
2016 16.06 GMT Last modified on Friday 15 January 2016 19.07 GMT
A western German
town has barred adult male asylum seekers from its public indoor
swimming pool after receiving complaints that some women were
sexually harassed.
The measures in
Bornheim, a town of 48,000 some 18 miles (30km) south of Cologne, are
the latest sign of social tensions related to the arrival last year
of 1.1 million migrants in Germany, followed by sexual assaults on
women by young male migrants and asylum seekers during New Year’s
Eve celebrations in Cologne.
Bornheim’s deputy
mayor said on Friday that a difficult decision was taken to send a
clear message that breaching German cultural norms was a red line.
“There have been
complaints of sexual harassment and chatting-up going on in this
swimming pool … by groups of young men, and this has prompted some
women to leave [the premises],” Markus Schnapka said.
“This led to my
decision that adult males from our asylum shelters may not enter the
swimming pool until further notice.”
He did not say how
the ban would be enforced. German media say asylum seekers, who get
no funds from the state, must present an identification document to
be admitted to pools at a discounted rate.
Schnapka said his
town had begun a campaign in local asylum seekers’ shelters to
teach the occupants about gender equality and respect for women.
The gang attacks on
women outside Cologne’s historic cathedral on the river Rhine
deepened public doubts about Angela Merkel’s open-door policy
towards refugees fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and about
Germany’s ability to integrate the mainly Muslim and Arab
newcomers.
Police
investigations into the incidents of sexual molestation are focusing
on 19 suspects, including 10 asylum seekers and nine illegal migrants
thought to be from north Africa. Police said the suspects came from
outside Cologne.
On Thursday, a
carnival parade planned for 8 February in Rheinberg, a town north of
Cologne, was cancelled after organisers said they would not be able
to provide a security plan for the event on as required by police.
Merkel is now under
increasing pressure to stem the flow of migrants coming to Germany.
Several thousand continue to arrive every day and there has been a
backlash by rightwing nationalist groups.
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