15 January 2016

Town bans male refugees from pools amid complaints

.... A spokesman for the local government of Bornheim said on Friday that the ban on male asylum seekers above the age of 18 came after six people filed complaints "over the sexually offensive behaviour of some migrant men at the pool".

The measure aimed at "making it clear to the men that the rights of women in Germany is inviolable", he added.

Officials have gone personally to three asylum seeker shelters near the pools to deliver news of the ban and emphasize how people should behave in swimming pools, said the spokesman.

The town, situated on the west bank of the Rhine River, would revoke the ban once it deems that the message has been drilled into the asylum seekers, he said, adding that this would be evaluated through interviews with social workers at the shelters.

Authorities denied placing entire groups of people under suspicion, but said the measure was aimed at laying down clear ground rules. [The Local] Read more