Greenland’s Police Busts Alcohol Myth

The myth saying that alcohol always is involved when sexual abuse of children and youth in Greenland takes place has been bust, Greenland’s police writes in a recent report, according to Sermitsiaq.

Only in one out of four cases is the perpetrator or the victim under the influence of alcohol, according to statistics. In half of the cases, 48 percent, there is no alcohol involved.

The report maps factors for a total of 191 reports of sexual assaults against children and youth in Tasiilaq over the past five years.

The report shows that many of the cases are complex, and that gambling addiction poses as big a risk as alcohol, as it causes children to be left on their own without supervision while the parents are busy elsewhere.