GETTY Germany forced to act over rising rates of sex attacks by refugees

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Officials in Berlin are shocked at individual reports reaching bureaucrats on a daily basis of attacks against defenceless people. In the town of Giessen, near Frankfurt, 15 women in one camp have filed complaints to local police of rape and other forms of sexual abuse.

But while hundreds of incidents have been reported, fear of men and family elders, coupled with the stigma of being a victim, have, say officials, prevented thousands of women and children from going to the authorities to register complaints.

We have to make sure that they're protected Ralf Kleindiek

The Ministry for Families, Seniors, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) will now provide money for the scheme which aims to give better protection to the vulnerable, including the remodelling of migrant centres to give more privacy to females and minors. Police have for long told of a rising trend of abuse, including rapes, but in the highly-charged political atmosphere that surrounds the whole refugee issue in Germany the problem has largely remained unaddressed. Municipal authorities will be able to get the money from central government in the form of in zero-interest loans.

Cologne: Sex Attacks and Robberies Tue, January 12, 2016 Thirty-one suspects, including 18 asylum seekers, are under investigation over offences including sexual assault and theft in Cologne on New Year's Eve. Far right protestors in Lepzig have rallied against refugees and German chancellor Angela Merkel. Play slideshow Reuters•Getty 1 of 22 Protestors in Lepzig rally after over 100 women were sexually assualted on New Year's Eve

Junior minister Ralf Kleindiek said: "Unfortunately we know that children and women in the camps are not safe from abuse and sexual assault. That's why we have to make sure that they're protected. "Not only measures regarding staff, but also structural measures have to be implemented such as lockable accommodation units and separate sanitary facilities. "For the children and adolescents we also need designated rooms to enable play and learning."

GETTY Protests have taken place across the country to put pressure on officials

GETTY 15 women in one camp have filed complaints to police of rape and other forms of sexual abuse

Fuelling the rise in sexual assaults is alcohol. Many Muslim men are exposed to alcoholic drinks for the first time in their lives, leading to booze binges that end in mayhem. A clampdown on this has started with a ban on all alcohol being brought into any migrant shelter anywhere in the country.

GETTY A clampdown on this has started with a ban on all alcohol being brought into any migrant shelter