By Vaughn Hoisington | GERMANY

In fear of an abundance of assaults on women at Berlin’s New Year’s Eve Celebration, it was decided for there to be a safe zone with members of the Red Cross to prevent the sexual assault of women. Along with safe zones, large bags and alcoholic drinks were prohibited at the Brandenburg Gate. These decisions were made as a result of the failure to stop these assaults and robberies in the Cologne City Center during the 2015 celebration.

These precautions didn’t work. The Berlin police acknowledged the government’s attempt at protecting their female citizens had failed, by stating that “occasional sexual assaults were reported. We do not tolerate such acts”.

German media has reported that at least ten cases of sexual assault occurred. Seven of the suspected attackers have already been detained.

One idea for an alternative to having Red Cross members patrol the area searching for women in need of protection is for women to carry firearms. Knowing there is a high possibility that a woman could have a gun is a definite way to stop sexual assault from occurring, and even if a criminal attempts to initiate an assault the victim, or even anyone near the victim could pull a gun on the criminal.

Failure to prevent sexual assault can be as much of a problem as the crime itself.