Overview
- NRW recorded 4,718 incidents in 2025 versus 2,680 in 2024, including 663 sexualized acts, 3,565 physical assaults and 490 cases of psychological violence.
- Reported incidents involving adults increased from 1,052 to 1,621 year over year, with Cologne and Düsseldorf together rising from 1,561 to 3,036 cases.
- Family minister Verena Schäffer says heightened awareness and a statewide online reporting module introduced in October 2024 are bringing more cases to light, and she points to a new child-protection commissioner role.
- Child-protection groups and opposition politicians link the rise to staff shortages and loosened qualification rules since 2023, urging the government to drop Kibiz proposals that would allow less-qualified staff in off-peak hours and larger groups.
- Research cited in the debate shows the share of highly qualified teams fell from about 41% in 2017 to 32% in 2023, with understaffing tied to higher turnover and weaker day-to-day language support for children.