Gang rapes are among the most brutal forms of sexual violence. Unfortunately, the scale of this type of crime in Western Europe is immense, and rape gangs operate in an organized and long-term manner. This criminal practice is closely linked to immigrant communities, particularly those originating from Muslim-majority countries. In Poland, such gangs do not currently operate, and gang rapes are rare. However, the experiences of other countries dealing with mass migration from culturally alien circles suggest that the situation could change rapidly — warns the latest issue of Gazeta Polska.
The scale of the problem in the West is staggering. In the United Kingdom, a high-profile report from Rotherham revealed that over a span of several years, gangs composed of men of Pakistani origin sexually abused at least 1,400 children. In France, gang rapes have become so frequent that they even have their own term — tournantes (“rotations”). It is estimated that up to 7,000 such crimes may occur there annually. The statistics from Germany are equally alarming, with the problem escalating since the 2015 migration crisis. In 2022, the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt) recorded 744 gruppenvergewaltigungen (“gang rapes”), and in Berlin alone, there were 111 such cases in 2023. Of these, “56% of the perpetrators did not hold German citizenship.”
The author of the article, Hubert Kowalski, points to the cultural roots of this phenomenon, which are closely tied to the background of the perpetrators. In many Muslim countries, the perception of rape is radically different from that in Europe. This is partly due to the strict interpretation of Islamic law, which traditionally required “four male Muslim witnesses who had visually observed the act of penetration” in order to prove rape. According to the article, this condition was “virtually impossible to meet,” and a woman reporting the crime without such witnesses could herself be accused of adultery and severely punished. These attitudes, deeply ingrained in some communities, are being transferred to European soil by migrants.
In Poland, according to data from the National Police Headquarters, the situation is markedly different. In 2023, there were 1,114 recorded rape crimes, but Polish authorities have so far not detected any organized criminal networks similar to those in England or Germany. Gang rapes remain a marginal phenomenon in the country. However, the article poses a crucial question: “For how long?”
To learn more about the mechanisms behind the rape epidemic in Western Europe — and whether Poland can avoid this threat — read the latest issue of the weekly Gazeta Polska.