Taharrush gamea

The pogrom night of shame (Schandnacht) in Germany: From the “welcome culture” to mass desecration; When the square in front of Cologne Cathedral was cleared, the desecration inside the train station building continued.

Taharrush or Taharrush gamea has been stated to be a gang-rape phenomenon in the Arab world including North Africa and also appearing in Europe.

History

The name translates to "collective harassment". It is carried out by large groups of men who sexually assault lone women, either by groping, or in some instances, raping them. The men first surround their victim in circles. Some then sexually assault her, while others not directly involved watch or divert outsiders' attention to what is occurring. Sometimes the victim is also robbed. It is carried out in public and almost always at demonstrations or large public gatherings, where the attackers find safety in numbers and disorder. The attack may go unpunished, because the large number of perpetrators and the chaos of the attack make it difficult for authorities to identify those involved.

Some well-known stated examples include an attack on the journalist Lara Logan (de), working for CBS, in Tahrir Square, Egypt, in 2011, during celebrations for the "Arab Spring" and in Cologne and other cities at 2015-2016 New Year celebrations (Schandnacht zum Jahreswechsel 2015/2016). On 12 January 2016, it was reproted:

"German police believe it was 'taharrush' committed in Cologne and other cities at New Year by Arab and North African men that led to hundreds of police complaints in the following weeks. [...] A total of 19 suspects have been identified, all foreigners."

On 22 January 2016, when including reported attacks from all of the major cities in the North Rhine-Westphalia state, then the complaint figure almost topped 1,000. 359 complaints related to sexual offences. 659 women were reported as victims. There were 126 complaints of "rape by a group" and 47 complaints of "sexual assault by a group". German police had identified only 30 suspects despite that, reportedly, 1,000 migrants went on a rampage in Cologne.

All of the suspects were of North African origin (Nafris), with 15 being "asylum seekers". More generally, investigators have said the majority of the perpetrators were of North African and Arabic origin. Residents of Cologne were reported to be arming themselves with pepper spray and air guns. According to a police document leaked in July 2016:

"The previous estimates have to be dramatically revised–upward. Authorities now think that on New Year’s Eve, more than 1,200 women were sexually assaulted in various German cities, including more than 600 in Cologne and about 400 in Hamburg. More than 2,000 men were allegedly involved, and 120 suspects–about half of them foreign nationals who had only recently arrived in Germany–have been identified. Only four have been convicted, but more trials are underway. [...] Officials have linked the sexual assaults to the influx of refugees. “There is a connection between the emergence of this phenomenon and the rapid migration in 2015,” Holger Münch, president of the German Federal Crime Police Office, told Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Many suspects had originally come to Germany from North African countries rather than Syria, officials said."

See also

• Knockout "game"
• Race and crime