Special ambulances are important contact points for victims of violence. In Rostock, a proportionately larger number of children came during the corona pandemic. This possible corona effect seems to be weakening.
Rostock/Greifswald (dpa/mv) - With the beginning of the corona pandemic in 2020, the proportion of children among the patients in the Rostock outpatient clinic for victims of violence has increased. "This trend does not seem to continue so drastically at first," said forensic doctor Verena Kolbe of the German Press Agency. "Of course we can only speculate about the reasons." Certainly the return to a certain normality, the reopening of daycare centers or the resumption of leisure activities would have contributed to this.
Up until shortly before Christmas, 105 examinations were carried out on children and 80 examinations on adults in Rostock and the Schwerin branch. In the entire previous year, there were 131 children and 55 adults. "So before the end of the year we (almost) reached our previous year's level again," summarized Kolbe. "This shows us again how important the work of the outpatient clinics for victims of violence is for medical victim protection."
According to their own statements, 219 examinations were carried out in the Greifswald outpatient clinic for victims of violence and the child protection clinic by mid-December. At least in the area of domestic violence, the figures for the entire previous year were almost reached. 133 people came forward because of alleged domestic violence, 77 of them children. In the entire previous year there were 139, 85 of them children. According to the information, more and more children than adults have presented themselves in recent years. There were no comparable fluctuations as in Rostock in terms of the ratio.
In the outpatient clinics for victims of violence, those affected can have injuries documented in such a way that the results can also be used in court. So far in Rostock 2022, 99 people have been affected by domestic violence, 51 of them children.
"Whether findings can actually be proven depends on the one hand on the intensity of the violence and on the other hand on the time of the investigation. Unfortunately, some of those affected only present themselves with a delay," explained Kolbe. However, most adults actually had injuries. Most of the time it is about blunt acts of violence, such as punches or kicks.
In cases of sexualized violence, it is unfortunately more the rule than the exception that no conclusive findings can be proven, said Kolbe. "So far this year, we have carried out 19 examinations of children suspected of sexualised violence, but we have only been able to identify any abnormalities in individual cases."
