German scouting group accused of hundreds of sexual assault offences

A Christian scouting group in Germany has been found responsible for hundreds of sexual assaults and rapes of minors.

A study presented at the headquarters of the Association of Christian Scouts (VCP), a Protestant scouting organization based in Kassel, listed 344 victims of sexual violence between 1973 and 2024 and 161 alleged perpetrators. 

Two-thirds of those affected were between 13 and 17 years old, while 60% were female.

Marlene Kowalski from the VCP's advisory council on sexual abuse said the violence marked one of the "darkest chapters" in the organization's history.

Around half of the offences took place on scout trips or camps. The vast majority of perpetrators were male, around half of whom were between 18 and 24 years old.

More than one-third of cases involved rape, the report found.

A rival scouting group, the German Association of Guides and Scouts (BdP), presented a similar study in 2024, reporting at least 50 perpetrators and 123 victims.

The BdP has around 30,000 members in Germany, while the VCP is larger with around 47,000 members.