Police record more cases of sexual abuse of children in Germany

The number of known cases of sexual abuse of children and adolescents increased in Germany last year, according to a police report published on Monday.

However, as the police assume that there is a large number of unreported cases of this type of offence, this alone is not an alarming finding, the report states.

In 2023, the police were notified of 16,375 cases of children being sexually abused - an increase of 5.5% compared to the previous year.

In the same period, 1,200 offences were also recorded in which young people were sexually abused. The number of cases involving depictions of the sexual abuse of children increased by 7.4% to around 45,000 cases, mainly due to numerous reports from abroad.

In the situation report, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) points out that the number of child abuse cases uncovered is closely linked to police monitoring activities and reporting behaviour.

"In this respect, intensified police activities in the area of criminal offences in recent years are likely to have led to an increase in the number of unreported cases," the report continues.

The BKA also points out that the statistics do not include the numerous cases in which no potential crime scene in Germany can be identified following information, particularly from the United States.

The reason why such investigations sometimes come to nothing is the minimum retention of telecommunications traffic data - especially IP addresses - which has been suspended in Germany.

Images and videos of sexually abused children and young people are shared thousands of times on the internet.