Overview

• Henriette Reker said she would not repeat the 'arm's length' advice and stressed she never meant to imply victims could have avoided assault by keeping distance.
• The comment followed mass sexual assaults near Cologne Cathedral and the main station on New Year's Eve 2015–16, which led to about 1,200 reports and 36 convictions.
• Police said more than 1,000 young men had gathered in the area and many suspects were reported to be from the North African region.
• The phrasing drew a strong backlash on social media and international attention, including coverage by the New York Times, and Reker faced accusations of naivety.
• Reker will leave office at the end of October after ten years, to be succeeded by SPD politician Torsten Burmester, and she noted she stopped counting death threats during her tenure.