On January 31, 2025, the German Bundestag passed the law to strengthen structures against sexual violence against children and adolescents. The law is intended to support structures that counteract sexual abuse against children. Suitable measures are to be taken to improve the prevention of and fight against sexual violence against children and young people. This applies in particular to sectors that provide care and education for young people. If young people have had such experiences, they should receive counseling and support. The experience should be reviewed in order to better prevent similar acts in the future.
To this end, the Office of the Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues, the Survivors Board and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Issues will be permanently implemented with this law. As part of this, the Independent Federal Commissioner was also required to report regularly to the German Bundestag, the Bundesrat and the Federal Government. The aim of the report is to outline the extent of the abuse once per legislative term and provide information on current developments in the area of prevention and support.
In order to improve the awareness of these issues in society as a whole, the Federal Centre for Health Education has been commissioned by law to develop materials and services in cooperation with the federal states and with the involvement of the Independent Commissioner to raise consciousness of the issue and contribute to improving the preventive protection of children and young people.
By establishing the law, the Federal Government is contributing to the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the implementation of EU Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography and the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention).