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  • 2016-02-01 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Germany Distribute Leaflets Discouraging Rape After Cologne Incident? (en)
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  • As Germany rang in the New Year in 2016, a number of assaults were reported in Cologne and other cities. As many as 600 reports were lodged, and people quickly moved to blame recent refugees and migrants for what was framed as a novel spate of violence against women on that night. On 1 February 2016, Britain's Daily Mail published an article titled Germany hands out cartoon etiquette guides at swimming baths after dozens of women were groped by migrants, which held: The Daily Mail maintained that the leaflets were created in response to the events in Cologne in late 2015 or early 2016. That outlet was far from the only source for such claims; blogger Steven Crowder published a 27 January 2016 item titled Germany Takes Measures To Curb Islamic Rape... With Leaflets? That post similarly posited that the leaflets were Germany's official response to the purported widespread, refugee-centric sexual assaults on New Year's Eve: The image's most visible appearance was in a 15 January 2015 item in the German version of The Local, titled Town bans male refugees from pools amid complaints. A portion was included in this version that described the true origin and purpose of the leaflets. The article explained that they were available in multiple languages for immigrants from a variety of backgrounds, and served a general purpose of providing information for individuals unfamiliar with public bathing protocols, including safety instructions: As the more complete image above illustrated, two or three of 13 frames pertained to co-ed swimming comportment. The rest addressed water safety, appropriate attire, and common hygienic practices for individuals unfamiliar with public pools. The article continued, contextualizing the portion about co-ed bathing areas and dating the leaflets to 2013, well before recent, larger waves of people began seeking refuge in Europe: As the article stated, the leaflets were created due to a number of unspecified problems, not specifically to curb sexual assaults. A larger picture suggested that the problems did not entirely (or even primarily) stem from behavior in public bathing areas, and the bulk of tips covered safety, sanitation, and clothing. While it's true that the leaflets were created and distributed in Munich following problems in public bathing areas, the leaflets came long before any events in Cologne on New Year's Eve in 2015 or 2016, as they were created in 2013. Additionally, the leaflets were produced in a variety of languages, and there was no evidence that their creation was prompted by any complaints about how immigrants or refugees behaved toward female swimmers. (en)
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