Cologne - Sexual Assaults on Women

The New Year's eve sexual attacks on women in Cologne raise a number of human rights issues for all European countries.

All women have the right not to be molested by men - or women for that matter. No woman should be a target for assault because she is young or dressed in a particular way. No one should be attacked because of the way they are dressed or because of their skin colour. All this should be obvious.

It should also be obvious that prejudicial behaviour is not just limited to white skinned Europeans. So called "racists" exist in all of the world's communities.

It is clear that only a small minority of the refugees who have fled to Europe are miscreants. The misbehaviour of a small minority migrants should not reflect upon the vast majority of refugees who seek peaceful and lawful sanctuary.

The young females, in Cologne, were targeted by young men who come from societies where women are not allowed to dress as they please - on the streets. In North Africa and the Middle East there is a strict dress code based upon strict religious mores; women who wear revealing clothes are looked down upon. Young women who are dressed in short skirts might even be regarded as prostitutes.

Cairo used to be a fairly secular society but there were still strong religious and cultural opinions held about how anyone should behave. Young men were expected not to have sex with their girl friends before they got married and couples were often chaperoned. These strictures even applied to Christians. Any form of homosexuality was strictly frowned upon. Christians and Muslims alike would rarely be seen drinking alcohol in public.

Is it any wonder that some young men who come from this type of society might go off the rails when they come to the free and easy West? But young men, tempted to behave badly, should be aware that they do not have the right to assault anyone no matter how they or dressed and no matter how they behave.  The young ladies in Cologne were innocently going on a night out and they were entitled to have a good time without being molested.

It should be noted, however, that most attacks against women are committed at home by fathers, husbands and boyfriends. It is probably safer from a statistical point of view for a woman to walk the streets rather than be at home. All men have a duty not molest or assault women.

If young ladies in Cologne have the right not to be molested then so do migrants and refugees have the right not to be attacked. This should also be axiomatic. Revenge and tit for tat attacks are completely unjustified and they should be dealt with firmly by the  police and prosecuting authorities. Everyone has a civic duty to show tolerance.

The police should be allowed to report the nature of attacks openly and without political interference for fear of upsetting sectional interests. Let us all know what is happening so that everyone can be treated fairly.

Anyone suspected of assault should be prosecuted and tried. A refugee or migrant who is convicted of a serious crime should be subject to deportation and this should be made clear to him when he arrives.

The refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan can easily be accommodated by western society even if we have no religion and the migrants do. Equally, all migrants should be aware that they cannot impose their religious and moral views on a secular society. We should all have one value in common and that is the desire for peace.