Germany: Male asylum seekers banned from public pools in Bornheim

Several male asylum seekers have reportedly engaged in 'sexually offensive behaviour' at a public pool in the town of Bornheim in Germany leading to their ban at public swimming pools in the town.

Six people reportedly submitted complaints "over the sexually offensive behaviour of some migrant men at the pool," after which the local government of Bornheim enforced the order. The ban is not indefinite and will be revoked once it has been accepted and understood by the migrants that certain practices are not allowed in Germany.

"[The ban is aimed at] making it clear to the men that the right of women in Germany is inviolable," said a spokesman for the local government of Bornheim. The authorities will be interviewing social workers at the shelters to determine when it is time to lift the ban.

Meanwhile, the spokesman confirmed that officials have personally visited three shelters to better educate the asylum seekers on the code of ethics at swimming pools. The officials also delivered the message about the generic ban that is effective not on certain people held under suspicion but rather as a measure that needs to be respected by all male asylum seekers.

The news comes amidst rising fear against male asylum seekers in Germany following the Cologne New Year's Eve mass sexual assaults by men of North African and Arab appearance. A total of 90 women were reportedly sexually harassed and robbed outside the city's iconic Gothic cathedral on 31 December 2015, according to police. In a poll by state television ARD, 48% of people expressed their fear of migrants while 50% said they felt otherwise, reported France24 News.