The violent death of 12-year-old Luise freezes society. Experts are now discussing how this could have happened and what needs to happen now.
Freudenberg – Two girls, twelve and thirteen years old, are suspected of having killed their friend who was only twelve years old. Bullying is said to have been a possible motive for the many stab wounds with which Luise was killed.
For psychologist Anja Steingen, founder of the Bonn Anti-Violence Academy, the act of violence in Freudenberg shows clear signs of “girl violence”. Opposite the tabloid Express she tried to analyze the act.
Luise (12) is dead: That’s what experts say after the Freudenberg act
“Formerly best friends. group violence. Previously planned procedure – the act itself can then have gone differently than the plan. The motive for revenge is also typical,” says the expert. The child and adolescent psychotherapist Christian Lüdke sees the brutal approach as “rather atypical behavior for girls”, as he says Focus stated “When children kill other children, the victim is often a tormentor,” the psychotherapist continues.
The child and adolescent psychiatrist Helmut Remschmidt has written two books about homicides by children and adolescents, but “that two girls of this age stab another girl, that’s something he hasn’t experienced in 40 years”. That’s what Remschmidt said to him Editorial Network Germany (RND).
Case Luise (12): Expert has “not experienced it in 40 years”
In recent years, the number of violent crimes among children and young people has continued to fall, according to a 2021 report by the German Youth Institute. Accordingly, the number of suspects in connection with violent crime among under-14s fell by 14.1 percent between 2019 and 2020.
A time series by the Federal Criminal Police Office on the distribution of the biological sex of suspects in violent crimes showed a clear result. In all age groups, the proportion of female suspects in 2020 is far smaller than that of men. For the age group between 12 and 14 years, the number of male suspects is seven times that of female suspects.
Children and violence: school plays a crucial role
The problem of violent young people is particularly common in schools. In order to counteract violence, various federal states have launched their own prevention campaigns. In North Rhine-Westphalia, in addition to individual projects such as “School without Racism – School with Courage” or “School of Diversity – School without Homophobia”, there is also the “Violence Prevention Action Plan” between 2019 and 2022.
Where is help? | At the counseling center of the respective federal state. |
How do I get help? | The website mobbt-die-mobber.de provides a list of all contact points and provides further support. |
“Of course, violence plays a role in all schools, including our school. You have to confront this violence and these problems,” explained Rainer Bülck, headmaster in Schleswig-Holstein, to the NDR. At the Bülck school, attempts are made to prevent aggression and violence by having pupils meet regularly in a class council and trying to resolve conflicts there.
With the support of the social workers, the school in Norderstedt tries to counteract violence. “The parents are usually overwhelmed with it,” is the assessment of the psychoanalyst Evelyn Heinemann NDR. That is why Heinemann advocates more qualified staff in schools. It is doubtful whether preventive work can completely prevent tragedies like the one in Freudenberg, but dealing with violence preventively is always desirable. (Lucas Maier)
After the act in Freudenberg: imprisonment for children would be the “wrong way”, a criminal law expert is sure of that.
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