Information and Help in case of Violence

The Code of Conduct of the University of Mannheim defines sexual harassment as follows:

“Sexual harassment is any conduct of a sexual nature that is unwelcome by the victim and that has the purpose or effect of violating the victim's dignity. This includes for example:

aa) comments of sexual content, in particular offensive remarks, comments or jokes about a person, their body, behavior or private life,
bb) unwelcome display or visible installation of pornographic pictures, regardless of their form (e.g. calendar, screen saver, poster),
cc) gestures or non-verbal comments of a sexual nature,
dd) unwelcome sexual requests and/or coercion to sexual acts,
ee) unwelcome physical contact of a sexual nature,
ff) sexual discrimination, harassment, and violence, in particular by a person of authority taking advantage of a subordinate at the place of work or study.”

Various terms are used to describe different harmful forms of harassment, bullying, defamation, coercion and slander of people in digital ways over the Internet and via smartphones. The assumption of another person's identity in order to act on their behalf represents a further danger.

Surveys and studies provide background information on digital harassment, including in popular social networks. It is particularly important to become active early on as a victim of cyber violence, to inform yourself about the various options for action and to make use of them.

In Baden-Württemberg, the Demokratiezentrum Baden-Württemberg offers the opportunity to take action against online hate comments via the respect! hotline. Anti-democratic and anti-Semitic incidents can also be reported.

• Zoombing
  The term spread in the course of the increased digitalization during the corona restrictions and describes an interruption of (especially public) video calls by unwanted, non-specialist content (sexualized, discriminatory, racist) by means of screen sharing. Technical handling for short-term reaction (removal of the disturbing person) as well as prevention possibilities against further abuse at especially open events are important here, but especially also on a psychosocial level the long-term handling of the consequences for the involved persons.
• Cyberbullying
  Over a longer period of time, individuals or a group of perpetrators use cell phone or Internet applications to intentionally harm a victim. In the process, there is an asymmetrical balance of power – the victim has difficulty resisting the actions of others. Cyberbullying is independent of time and place and can take place 24 hours a day due to smartphones. Cyberbullying, unlike classic bullying, takes place with a very high degree of publicity. It can occur in a wide variety of forms.
• Cyberstalking
  Victims are harassed through inappropriate, threatening, insulting, digital contact or even disparagement in chats, blogs and social networks. Monitoring of the victim's Internet activities, tracking of smartphones and identity abuse also show the parallelism to classic stalking.
• Cybergrooming
  Victims in the 10 to 15 age group are targeted by adults online on Instagram, TikTok and the like. In the process, a basis of trust is gained from the adolescents, most of whom are not yet of media age, and an emotional dependency is strategically created in order to get them to engage in sexualized acts online. This can be followed by blackmail and possibly also physical abuse.

• Gewaltambulanz Heidelberg
  For free documentation of injuries and securing of evidence after violence, even if a report is not (yet) planned. It is available around the clock by phone: 0152 54 64 83 93, employees are subject to confidentiality and agreements on the place/date of the examination are made promptly after a preliminary telephone conversation.
• The Violence against Women support hotline is available at 08000 116 016 or online.
• Weisser Ring offers online services and a support hotline for victims at 116 006.
• Support hotline for victims of sexual abuse for both adults and adolescents at 0800 22 55 530.
• Important emergency contacts compiled by the German Prevention Congress (Deutscher Präventionstag, DPT)
• Frauen- und Mädchennotruf Mannheim
  (emergency hotline for women and girls); telephone: 0621 – 10033 or team maedchennotruf.de
• Luisa is an offer of help for women in the party scene of Heidelberg, Mannheim, and Ludwigshafen, who can turn to the staff with the question “Ist Luisa hier?” (“Is Luisa here?”) to get immediate and discreet assistance in unpleasant situations.

• The Violence against Women support hotline provides advice by phone, chat, or online. 

• Assistance in cases of domestic violence provided by the City of Mannheim
• The Stronger than Violence initiative (Stärker als Gewalt – häusliche Gewalt erkennen) provides information, advice, and information on the legal backgrounds.
• For the Heidelberg area and the Rhine-Neckar district, the guide4you project offers support to improve the local help system for women* affected by domestic violence through personal accompaniment. Until July 2021, an anonymous questionnaire is also available in 8 languages, the results of which are used to adapt the help system to the needs of women*.
• As an intervention center, Women Helping Women advises women and girls who are acutely experiencing violence in their relationship and who urgently need support (coordination and contact point within the framework of the Protection Against Violence Act and in housing expulsion proceedings; other focal points are stalking and issues of self-determined living/forced marriage). Phone: 06221/ 750 135, Email: interventionsstelle-heidelberg.de">info interventionsstelle-heidelberg.de
• Fraueninformationszentrum (FIZ) Mannheim (women's counseling center)
  Protection, help, and counseling for women and their children who have experienced domestic violence; telephone: 0621–37 97 90, e-mail: fraueninformationszentrum t-online.de
• Mannheimer Frauenhaus (women's shelter of Mannheim e.V.)
  Protection, help, and counseling for women and their children who have experienced domestic violence; telephone: 0621–74 42 42, e-mail: fachbereich-frauen frauenhaus-fiz.de
• Frauen- und Kinderschutzhaus Heckertstift Mannheim
  Protection and shelter for women and their children who have experienced sexual, physical or psychological violence; telephone: 0621–411068 or via the free support hotline 0800 1008121; e-mail: heckertstift caritas-mannheim.de
• The counseling and intervention center Lida of the Diakonisches Werk Rhein-Neckar-Kreis supports women after domestic violence with information and referral to further help and counseling services. A branch office in Heidelberg serves as the point of contact for the northern Rhine-Neckar district.

• BEKO Rhein-Neckar
  Expert advice for people affected by a highly stressful event. Such stressful events include, for example, burglary, fraud, violence, accidents, suicide of a close person or other misfortunate incidents. The information and counseling service is free of charge and ideologically neutral. Upon request, advice is offered anonymously.
• Psychological Counseling Center Frauen und Mädchennotruf
  In addition to providing help in acute cases, the psychological counseling center provides counseling for sexually abused women and girls, supportive caregivers and professionals. It offers counseling and trauma therapy, legal information, parent talks, etc. at 0621 10033 or via email team maedchennotruf.de. 
• Trauma- und Opferberatung Seehaus e. V. Sinsheim
  Appointments can be arranged free of charge at the trauma and victim counseling center of Seehaus e. V. Sinsheim: claumann seehaus-ev.de or jloewen seehaus-ev.de or via telephone: 07261–94 35 521.

• Nummer gegen Kummer service for children and adolescents: 116 111
• Psychological Counseling Center Frauen und Mädchennotruf
  In addition to providing help in acute cases, the psychological counseling center provides counseling for sexually abused women and girls, supportive caregivers and professionals. It offers counseling and trauma therapy, legal information, parent talks, etc. at 0621 10033 or via email team maedchennotruf.de. 
• LuCa Heidelberg e. V.
  Gender-sensitive work with children and young people on the prevention of violence, eating disorders, youth employment assistance, etc. 
• Childhood-Haus Heidelberg
  Point of contact for children and young people who have suffered physical or sexual violence; telephone: 06221 56 -32430, e-mail: Childhood-Haus med.uni-heidelberg.de
• Juuuport platform of the State Media Authority of Lower Saxony (Niedersächsische Landesmedienanstalt, NLM)
  Trained, voluntary scouts between 14 and 18 years advise young people who have had bad experiences on the Internet.

• Jedermann e. V. Mannheim
  Counseling for perpetrators, offenders, and individuals disposed to commit a crime. Contact via mobile phone and WhatsApp: 0179–4883083, 0179-308238; e-mail: info jeder-mann.de
• The Behandlungsinitiative Opferschutz (BIOS-BW)
  initiative offers therapeutic assistance by telephone for people who fear that they might commit a crime. Especially people who have sexual fantasies about children or people who have a tendency to commit violent crimes can use this free of charge and anonymous service by calling the nationwide free hotline: 0800 70 222 40
• Men's Intervention Center/Men emergency call Fairmann e.V.
  in Heidelberg offers non-judgmental, anonymous telephone and Internet counseling for men who have used or are still using violence. Phone: 06221 600101, Email: info fairmann.org

• PLUS. Psychologische Lesben- und Schwulenberatung Rhein-Neckar
  Psychological counseling center for LGBTTIQ people and their relatives, also on the subject of violence and the prevention of violence; telephone: 0621–33 62 110, e-mail: team plus-mannheim.de
• pro familia Mannheim
  Advice on pregnancy, contraception, sexuality, partnership and family, special counseling services for young people; telephone: 0621–27720 
• AIDS-Hilfe Heidelberg e.V.
  Counseling and information on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. For anonymous advice by phone please call 06221–19 4 11; otherwise, please contact us via e-mail: info aidshilfe-heidelberg.de
• Counseling centers of the local police authority on various topics regarding victim protection and crime prevention.

Cyber violence:

• Stadt Berlin – Ihr gutes Recht bei Cyberstalking
• Stadt Berlin – Cyberstalking aktiv werden
• Frauen gegen Gewalt – Digitale Gewalt
• Polizeiberatung Informationen zum Opferschutz – Cybercrime
• Aktion tu was... gegen Cybermobbing

Sexualized violence / KO Drops:

• Frauen gegen Gewalt – Infoflyer für Betroffene und Bezugspersonen bei sexualisierter u. häuslicher Gewalt, Belästigung am Arbeitsplatz, Stalking
• Pro Beweis – KO Mittel
• Polizeiberatung Information zum Opferschutz – sexuelle Gewalt/KO Tropfen

Residential Violence / Body Injury:

• Polizeiberatung Information zum Opferschutz – häusliche Gewalt
• Polizeiberatung Information zum Opferschutz – Körperverletzung

Stalking:

• Aktion tu was..._Stalking
• Aktion tu was... gegen Belästigung
   

Please note that the above-mentioned webpages are only available in German

• See behind the curtain of the Violence against Women support hotline
• Weisser Ring: Sexualized violence
• Women against Violence on digital violence
• Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth on digital violence
• Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf „Männerwelten – Belästigung von Frauen“ (Men's worlds – Harassment of women)
• Police headquarters Mannheim: Making an emergency call
• Mannheim says NO to violence against women and girls 2020
• Please note that the above-mentioned videos are only available in German

• Bielefeld University: Sexualized discrimination and violence at higher education institutions (only available in German)
• Period. Brussels: It's not that gray. How to identify the gray area – a practical guide for the twilight zone of sexual harassment

The NO STALK app developed and provided by Weisser Ring, a charitable organization for the support of victims of crime and for the prevention of crimes, helps to document incidents of stalking via photo, video, and voice recordings with the smartphone.

The Salus-App-emergency call offers people with and without disabilities the possibility to make emergency calls from their smartphone. It is especially helpful for people who are limited in speech or hearing.  

Please note that the Salus-App is only available in German.

In 2014, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) conducted a Europe-wide study on experiences of physical, sexual, and psychological violence against women.

In general, it can be seen that violence against women is widespread in the EU and that Germany ranks in the medium to high range in comparison with other countries. 24% of the women surveyed in Germany stated that they had suffered stalking since the age of 15. 60% of the participants in the survey have experienced at least one form of sexual harassment.

Two representative studies by theFederal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend, BMFSFJ) provide a general insight into the issue of violence against women in Germany (2004) and specifically the life situation and stresses and strains of women with impairments and disabilities in Germany (2011).

Selected results from the 2004 survey:

• 42% of women have experienced psychological violence
• 40% have experienced physical and/or sexualized violence since the age of 16
• every fourth woman experiences domestic violence in her relationship, i.e. by her (former) partner
• 13% of women have experienced some form of sexualized violence prosecutable by law since the age of 16
• 37% of women who had experienced physical violence and 47% of those who had experienced sexual violence had not talked to anyone about these experiences

In 2013, the Lesbian Counselling Centre Berlin and LesMigraS conducted a quantitative and qualitative study on violence against lesbian and bisexual women as well as transgender or transsexual people in Germany, who are particularly likely to be affected by discrimination (only available in German). The results are supported by an analysis of the Federal Antidiscrimination Agency (Antidiskriminierungsstelle)  on the experience of discrimination in Germany based on sexual identity (2017) that used both quantitative and qualitative data.

Trans people are particularly often affected by sexual discrimination and violence.

A first major German study on the period of the lockdown conducted by the Technical University of Munich and published in early June 2020 shows:

• 3.1% of the women surveyed experienced physical violence;
• 3.6% suffered sexual violence;
• 3.8% experienced psychological violence, of which 2.2% were not allowed to leave the house without permission and in the case of 4.6% the partner controlled contacts with other people – including digital forms of contact.

The results of a study on security and unreported cases of violence in North Rhine-Westphalia, which was launched in August 2019 and achieved a response rate of 41%, are expected by summer 2020.

The results of a study conducted by the Technical University of Munich conducted in June 2020 show that the available offers of assistance during the coronavirus lockdown were only sparsely used:

• 48.2% of the victims knew of the telephone counseling service, 3.9% called the service to seek support.
• 32.4% knew of the Violence against Women support hotline, 2.7% contacted the hotline.
• 44.3% knew the Elterntelefon service for parents, 21.5% sought help there.
• 5.5% knew the “Code word mask 19” campaign, where pharmacies inform the authorities when a customer says this code word; 1.8% made use of this service. (Source: idw-Online, last viewed on 20 October 2020)

• Gendercrime Country Report Germany 2009-201: a quantitative and qualitative study in the higher education context at 16 selected universities in Germany:
  • 54.7% of female students stated that they had experienced sexual harassment during their studies
• Publication of the University of Halle on sexual violence at higher education institutions (2015), only available in German
• For further study results please visit the portal of the GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences: Center of Excellence Women and Science (CEWS) – gender-related and sexualized violence in academia

The study Umgang mit sexueller Belästigung am Arbeitsplatz (Dealing with sexual harassment at the workplace) shows that over an individual’s entire working life, approximately one in four to five women and one in twelve to fourteen men experiences sexual harassment in the workplace context.

Plan International survey on digital violence:

In the State of the World's Girls Report 2020 concerning online harassment from Plan International, 14,000 young women and girls from 22 countries were surveyed:

•  58% experienced threats, insults and discrimination on social media worldwide
• 70% of the German respondents said they had experienced such harassment on social media
• 50% of girls stated they were more likely to be harassed on social media than on the streets

• Worldwide leading platforms in terms of harassment are Facebook (39%) and Instagram (23%)

Survey by Amnesty International 2017:

Already at the end of 2017, the human rights organization looked at women's experiences of digital violence and harassment on the Internet and social media platforms. Of the representatively selected 500 women between the ages of 18 and 55 from the USA, New Zealand, Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Spain and Poland stated:

• Approximately 23% had received critical comments at one time or another
• 41% of respondents who had experienced digital violence actually felt physically threatened – 24% also feared for their families
• Over 50% developed various psychological complaints as a result (impaired self-confidence, sleep and concentration problems, through to panic attacks and anxiety)
• 59% stated that the digital violence came from strangers/strangers
• 76% reported acting differently in their daily digital lives as a result of these experiences
• Only 18% of the women asked were able to report adequate and positive reactions from social platforms to their complaint

Cybermobbing and Cybergrooming:

Two studies among young people on unreported cases of cyberbullying and cybergrooming conducted in 2011 by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence (Institut für interdisziplinäre Konflikt- und Gewaltforschung, IKG) Bielefeld on the one hand and as part of the Forsa survey “Cybermobbing – Gewalt unter Jugendlichen“ (Cyberbullying – Violence among Young People) on the other hand revealed different prevalence rates of victim and witness statements. This can be attributed to the fact that the Forsa survey examined the lifetime prevalence of cyberbullying, whereas the IKG study determined a three-month prevalence.

• IKG study (survey using open-access online questionnaires for the period from February to July 2011 among pupils aged 11 to 24 years):
  • 14.1% of the schoolchildren stated that they had been victims of at least one form of cyberbullying (harassing and defamatory behavior, cyberstalking, or sexual harassment) in the past three months. 15.1% of female pupils and 12.8% of male pupils claimed to have been victims.
  • 12.6% of the pupils surveyed were themselves offenders in at least one form of cyberbullying in the last three months. 13.2% of female pupils reported that they had committed cyberbullying themselves as did 11.9% of male pupils. However, on average, male cyberbullies are more likely to commit different acts of bullying.
• Forsa survey (telephone survey among pupils aged 14 to 20 years):
  • 32% of the young people surveyed have been victims of cyberbullying.
  • 8 % stated that they had committed cyberbullying as offenders.
  • 78% of the pupils surveyed know a victim of cyberbullying.