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Large-size studies on the prevalence of female intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization in Germany are rare and partly outdated; representative data on male IPV victimization are lacking altogether. The present survey addresses these gaps. For this study, the instrument of the WHO Multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence has been translated to German and adapted to be used with females and males. A random route procedure in selecting household addresses has been used to gather data on IPV in combination with an omnibus survey on (mental) health issues. A total 2,503 respondents with a minimum age of 14 years have participated (response rate=44.1%). The resulting distribution of age and gender was representative for the German population above the age of 14 years. A total of 57.6% of female participants and 50.8% of male participants have reported victimization by intimate partners during their lifespan; gender distribution differs significantly (Chi2=43.43; p, publishedVersion

Kindererziehung ist ein vielschichtiger durch verschiedene Akteur*innen geprägter Nexus. Im Mittelpunkt steht der heranwachsende Mensch, dessen Recht auf Förderung seiner Entwicklung sowie auf Erziehung zu einer eigenverantwortlichen und gesellschaftsfähigen Persönlichkeit. Das Recht zur Erziehung kommt in erster Linie den Eltern zu, ist gleichzeitig eine Pflicht und hat fiduziarischen Charakter (Art. 6 Abs. 2 S. 1 GG). Die elterliche Erziehung erstreckt sich auch auf politische bzw. religiös-weltanschauliche Fragen, auf die Vermittlung von Werten und Grundhaltungen. Grenzen findet das religiös-weltanschauliche Erziehungsrecht hingegen in seiner missbräuchlichen Ausübung. Zugespitzt lässt sich festhalten, dass unterhalb dieser Schwelle auch eine Erziehung zu extremistischer Weltanschauung oder fundamentalistischer Religiosität grundsätzlich zulässig ist. Verfassungsrechtlich stellt sich die Frage, inwieweit der Staat beziehungsweise die Erziehung in öffentlicher Verantwortung hierauf Einfluss nehmen darf. Das Feld religiös-weltanschaulicher Kindererziehung ist durchwirkt vom verfassungsrechtlichen Gebot staatlicher Neutralität in Glaubensfragen. In seiner deutschen Prägung meint dies keine strikte und vollkommene Trennung von Staat und Glaubensgesellschaften. Vielmehr beschreibt es eine offene, übergreifende, die grundrechtliche Glaubensfreiheit für alle Bekenntnisse gleichermaßen fördernde Haltung. Das Geflecht erzieherischer Kompetenzen zwischen Kind, Eltern und Staat wird damit zwar nicht verändert, aber bereichsspezifisch ausgeformt. Der Staat kann seine eigene Neutralität nur dadurch gewährleisten, dass er allen Bürger*innen gleichermaßen die verhältnismäßig gerechte Ausübung ihrer grundrechtlichen Freiheiten ermöglicht. Nicht nur die Kindeswohlgefährdung ist somit wesentliche Begrenzung des elterlichen Erziehungsrechts, sondern auch die Wahrung der Grundrechte Anderer sowie der Werte der freiheitlich-demokratischen Grundordnung kann ein Einwirken auf Erziehung legitimieren.

Young people who cannot live with their birth families are provided with care through the child and youth welfare system. They are placed in foster, or residential care. In Germany, children and young people in care, and after leaving care are referred to with the English term “care leaver”. This phrase has become a code name for this group of persons in society. They have increasingly received attention from policy makers, and researchers over the last two decades. The chapter gives an overview to the German situation of children in and leaving care. It introduces the statistics in the field and the organizational, as well as legal framework, describes the path to independence when leaving care, and promising recent developments to empower care leavers, as well as to support self-organization., Młodzież, która nie może mieszkać ze swoimi rodzinami urodzenia, jest objęta opieką w ramach systemu opieki nad dziećmi i młodzieżą. Są umieszczani w rodzinie zastępczej lub w domu opieki. W Niemczech dzieci i młodzież pozostające pod opieką oraz osoby opuszczające opiekę są nazywane angielskim terminem „wychowawca opieki”. To wyrażenie stało się kryptonimem dla tej grupy osób w społeczeństwie. Od dwudziestu lat przyciągają coraz większą uwagę decydentów i badaczy. Rozdział zawiera przegląd sytuacji dzieci pozostających pod opieką i opuszczających ją w Niemczech. Wprowadza statystyki w tej dziedzinie oraz ramy organizacyjne i prawne, opisuje drogę do niezależności po odejściu z opieki, a także obiecuje ostatnie osiągnięcia w zakresie wzmocnienia pozycji osób opuszczających opiekę zdrowotną, a także wspierania samoorganizacji.

How accountable are decisions about terminating parental rights to ensure an adoption from care? In this paper we examine if the proceedings in eight European jurisdictions are accountable to: a) the private parties, i.e. individuals that are concerned – such as parents, child; b) the general public that authorized the politicians and the government to make legislation; and c) the elected government, i.e. the legislators and the system that have granted the court, court-like or administrative body the authority to make these decisions. Our data material consists of national legislation, organizational guidelines (courts, child protection, or supervisory agencies), statistics and expert knowledge. The conclusions of our analysis are discouraging. There is only limited accountability for one of the most intrusive interventions by a state into the private lives of individuals. There is a lack of information about the proceedings as well as a lack of transparency. We identify systems that, with few exceptions, operate in isolation, with only a few outsiders having access or knowledge about what is going on. We cannot in this study say anything about the decision-making quality in these proceedings, they may be excellent, but the problem is that very few external actors are in a position to examine the quality of the decisions. This missing connection between the wider democratic society and this part of the legal systems in the eight democracies we studied is of huge concern, and we have indications that the situation is equally concerning in other European states. publishedVersion

This paper explores practical and ethical dilemmas for professionals when securing the protection of children in the complex non-clinical setting of individual families. It is based on a cross-country study on cultural encounters in interventions against child physical abuse and neglect in four countries (England/Wales, Germany, Portugal, and Slovenia). Drawing on national reports of legal-organizational frameworks and socio-cultural backgrounds of European child protection systems, it also presents the results of a series of focus groups with professionals. Data were analysed to identify implicit and explicit discursive constructions as well as normative representations and from this deriving the key ethical issues and dilemmas. Despite a shared normative framework across Europe, intervention cultures vary across the four countries and between the different stakeholder groups. Although each child protection system faced widespread mistrust, policy approaches differ, some relying on strong and detailed guidance whereas others stress professional skill and judgement. We conclude that despite a shared commitment to the protection of children, deliberations and perceived ethical dilemmas suggest interdependency between differences in system cultures and policy approaches that inform the character of professional interventions in the four countries.

This book offers insights and perspectives from a study of "Cultural Encounters in Intervention Against Violence" (CEINAV) in four EU countries. Seeking a deeper understanding of the underpinnings of intervention practices in Germany, Portugal, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, the team explored variations in institutional structures and traditions of law, policing, and social welfare. Theories of structural inequality and ethics are discussed and translated into practice.

Increasing recognition of the private spheres of family, sexuality and interpersonal relationships as sites for violence has led to transformations in law and policy at national and international levels. There is now a broad consensus in Europe that the state has responsibilities to protect children and women from violence. To enter these arenas, however, is to encounter complex intersections of power relations with respect to gender, generation, race/ethnicity, nationality and faith: a matrix of rights and responsibilities which professionals have to navigate. In this paper we use the overarching concept of intervention, drawing on its etymology: venire - to go, inter - in-between or inside. Professionals are stepping into the lives of others, which raises a set of ethical issues and dilemmas, which also are linked to power: of the state, of belonging and knowing. Intervention as used here includes assessment, investigation, and legal measures alongside support, advocacy and counselling.

Das Bundeskinderschutzgesetz ist am 1. Januar 2012 in Kraft getreten (Erlauterungen zum gesamten Gesetz und seinen Inhalten, s. Meysen u. Eschelbach 2012).