A university in Berlin told women being repeatedly harassed by a sex offender migrant male not to call the police as it may be seen as racist.
The suspect has been sexually harassing female students for weeks around campus at Berlin’s Free University, but the left-wing General Students’ Committee (AStA) has urged them not to alert authorities.
The Morgenpost newspaper reported on an email sent out to students by the group which said women should be wary of appearing racist and putting the sex offender at risk.
“We would like to point out that police operations for people affected by racism are generally associated with an increased risk of experiencing police violence,” the email stated, adding that most police officers are “not sufficiently trained in dealing with psychologically exceptional situations.”
“Therefore such engagements often ‘by unnecessary use of force are escalated.’” the statement added.
Morgenpost reported that the university’s email indicated, “the concern here is obviously less for the potential victim than for the perpetrator.”
Instead of calling the police, the letter says students should instead contact the security service of the university or the social psychiatric service.
“However, the latter can only apprehend an individual with their consent and thus is an unhelpful suggestion,” reports Remix News.
“Despite an intervention, the sex offender appears to resist any attempts to change his ways. Apparently, there was at least one conversation between students and the alleged sex offender, but he has shown no willingness to stop harassing women.”
Berlin police responded to the story by urging women to call them if they felt unsafe.
“Anyone who is in danger or affected by a crime or becomes aware of an emergency situation of others should not let anything or anyone stop them from acting. Call us – dial 110! We are here for you,” the police department tweeted.
Such behavior is nothing new in Germany, which has accepted millions of migrants, the vast majority of them young men, from the Middle East and North Africa over the last decade.
Read More: University Tells Women Not to Call Police
