At least 21 female visitors to Germany's Oktoberfest experienced sexual or physical violence on the festival grounds during its first week, according to an interim report.
The project "Safe Oktoberfest for girls and women" said that only 14 female visitors had experienced sexual of physical violence during the same period in 2019, the last time the Oktoberfest was held before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Members of the project do not see a general increase in violence at the Munich festival, however. The increased demand is due to the growing awareness of the campaign and because of societal debate about the topic, they said.
This year, 228 female visitors sought the support of the initiative in the first week of the festival - 50% than in 2019. The youngest girl was 14 and the oldest was 62, while most of them were under 30, the group said.
Among those, 69 women or girls could no longer find their companions or had lost valuables such as mobile phones, keys or wallets. Twenty-one visitors asked for advice because of psychological crises, and 15 came because of alcohol or drug abuse.
