Stories of Gender and Migration, Crime and Security: Between Outrage and Denial

This paper focuses on the public narratives concerning New Year’s Eve 2015 in Cologne, which attracted national and international attention and engendered a quarrel over the best policy concerning migration and refugees. The narratives are a typical example of the blurring lines between crime control and migration control. In this context, stories about sexual violence are emphasised by making refugees responsible for said violence. The present analysis shows how stories about sexual violence explicitly highlight links to migration and deny the everyday character of sexual violence in public space.