A rising number of adolescent migrants in Germany are turning to sex work after aging out of youth welfare programs. The Left Party has called for increased funding into integration and social policies.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Zinken
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German aid charities have reported a marked increase in the number of young migrants turning to prostitution in Germany. That's according to an investigation published on Monday by Berlin broadcaster rbb in cooperation with a number of local charities.
The increase has seen more young men to sex work, namely of Afghan, Pakistani and Iranian backgrounds.
Aid charities see Germany's wavering social system as the catalyst for the rise. Once refugees turn 18 they no longer qualify for state support for young people, forcing them to turn to prostitution as a way to make ends meet.
Broadcaster rbb reported that most of the meetings are set up through online forums. Berlin's Tiergarten park has also become point of reference for older men seeking to pay for sex with adolescents boys.
Government integration policy 'failed'
Chairwoman for the Left Party in Berlin Katina Schubert said the "harrowing stories" of young refugees turning to prostitution were likely also plaguing the rest of Germany and showed that "the German government's integration policy has failed."
Schubert said: "Without a proper perspective in life, young people - regardless if they've come to Germany as migrants or not - risk putting themselves in danger. We desperately need more helpers and organizations that care for young homeless people, as well as programs that give them a chance to learn German and go to school."
Last year, Germany recorded a trade surplus record of 253 billion euros ($267 billion), amounting to 8.7 percent of the country's gross domestic product. More of that money urgently had to go into funding integrations and social policy, the Left Party lawmaker said. "Otherwise thousands of minors risk the same fate as the young Afghans, Pakistanis and Iranian men in Berlin's Tiergarten.
Illegal migrants don't have much choice
However, Ralf Rötten, chairman of the charity "Hilfe for Jungs" (translation: Help for Boys) said the problem is largely caused by German government's asylum and deportation policies, rather than a lack of access to social services.
"The majority of them aren't allowed to take part in German lessons," Rötten said. "They aren't allowed to go to school, or to work. What kind of alternatives are out there for young people?"
Rötten said he had even heard stories of illegal migrants recommending among one another to prostitution in the Tiergarten as means of making money.
dm/kms (AFP, KNA, rbb)
From camping beds to utopian gardens
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Image: Leibnitz Universität in Hannover
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Real news instead of newspapers
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New life for a ghost town
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A visit by Angela Merkel
The chancellor's popularity may be sinking in Germany, but Merkel has won a huge fan base with Syrians fleeing the war. Here, she poses for a selfie with a refugee at a shelter in Berlin's Spandau area.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Bernd von Jutrczenka
Critics make an appearance
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A target for extremists
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Murat
The long wait
Refugees arriving in Germany for the first time have to wait long hours outside the social housing office in Berlin. The long delays have resulted in fist fights, leading police to put up barriers.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
A new life begins
This Syrian refugee family finally found a house in Bonn last year. Many refugee families spend over three months in container homes in Germany, but the administration plans to speed up the process of finding an apartment, so that migrants can begin living a normal life as soon as possible.
Image: DW/F. Fischerkeller
The perfect world
Flowers bloom in lush gardens as Germans mingle with refugees. This picture represents a utopian idea developed by building and design theory researchers at Hannover university - a utopian vision that many hope will be reality some day.
