Only two months before this series of sexual assaults , the German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation had released a November 2015 report with findings from January – September 2015 that the crime rate for refugees was the same as that for the native German population . “ The study concluded that the majority of crimes by refugees ( 67 percent ) consisted of theft , robbery and fraud . Sex crimes made for less than 1 percent of all crimes committed by refugees , while homicide registered the smallest fraction at 0,1 percent ,” ( Deutsche Welle ). However , another 2015 study concerning immigration in western Europe and corresponding crime rates found that even if the crime rate had not increased due to immigration flows , the fear of crime had increased and spread with antiimmigrant sentiment . This fear has exponentially increased following the alleged Cologne sex attacks ; the title of an article written following the rapes captures the extent of public concern about this issue : “ Europe ’ s Rape Epidemic : Western Women Will Be Sacrificed At the Altar of Mass Migration .”
In response , Norway , followed by other European countries , has begun hosting coaching classes for refugees about social codes , gender / sexual norms , and host nation laws in the hopes of both preventing sexual violence and assisting refugees with navigating new host nation cultures . Norway originally started hosting these courses following a series of rapes occurring between 2009-2011 in the city of Stavanger , primarily committed by foreign immigrants ( 3 / 20 by native Norwegians ). In 2013 , the Norwegian immigration department mandated nationwide offering of programs for refugees on sexual and other violence . The nonprofit Alternative to Violence and the private company " Hero Norge " were both hired to train refugee center workers and run asylum center discussions . Other European nations have followed suit . Denmark is considering incorporating sex education into mandatory language classes for refugees ; Germany is experimenting with similar classes at shelters for teenage migrants ; and in January 2016 , Belgium announced plans to introduce compulsory “ respect for women ” classes for non-European migrants and refugees .
Classes hosted at Norwegian reception centers for refugees are discussionbased and use role-playing scenarios in order to help those seeking asylum to avoid mistakes in their discovery of Norwegian culture . These courses consist of voluntary weekly group discussions about rape and other violence . They do not focus on religion per se , but on educating new arrivals on the laws of Norway that must be obeyed regardless of religion . For example , the course manual instructs in the rule that forcing someone to have sex is not permitted in Norway regardless of whether you are married to that person . It also addresses perceptions of honor and how violence understood to be honorable in some cultures is illegal in Norway . These classes provide space for refugees to open up about their own views about relations between men and women . The aim is to assist refugees in understanding different cultural signals . Typical interactions between native Norwegian men and women such as being friends , drinking , smiling , and flirting are explained so that refugees from different cultures will
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