Radio Europe published a comparison of reported rape cases in four European countries between 2000 and 2023. In England and Wales, reports surged from 8,593 in 2000 to 68,109 in 2023 — a nearly seven-fold increase. In Germany, the number rose from 8,133 to 39,029, an almost fourfold rise. France also saw a dramatic escalation, with reports jumping nearly fivefold from 7,500 to 42,400.
Poland, however, bucked the trend. Reported rapes fell from 2,399 in 2000 to 1,127 in 2023.
[Although the exact figures vary slightly depending on the data source, Radio Europe’s numbers are consistent with other reports.]
As right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong asked when he reposted the statistics, what happened during those years? We’ll return to Cheong in a moment.
According to the International Journal of Law, Crime, and Justice, the steep increase in the number of rape cases being reported is because many European Union countries have replaced “coercion-based rape laws which require proof of force, with consent-based laws which define rape as any sex without explicit consent.” The report notes that by May 2023, 20 European nations had adopted consent-based rape laws.
European statistics website Eurostat attributes the increase to raised awareness of rape in society. There is less of a social stigma in reporting sexual assaults than there used to be.
Others cite an improvement in police record keeping practices.
While each of the above may well be contributing factors, they tend to sidestep what Cheong was driving at — the proverbial elephant in the room. His point is straightforward: the dramatic rise in reported rape cases across Europe coincided with the period when many European governments made the decision to open up their borders. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to see the correlation between these two developments. By focusing solely on secondary explanations, critics risk overlooking the broader context that Cheong sought to highlight.
The following reply to Cheong’s post drives the point home with striking clarity.
The rest of this reply reads:
They let criminals walk while they smeared anyone who dared to speak truth as a bigot.This is not an accident. It is not some tragic coincidence. It is the direct result of cowardice and corruption dressed up as progress. Europe is not being destroyed by chance. It is being destroyed by design. The same is happening in America, and if we do not stand up and stop it, we will look exactly like Europe in the next five years.
What really stood out to me in digging into this topic was not what I found, but what I didn’t find. There was a striking absence of reliable and/or up-to-date information. There appears to be a reticence among both members of the European media and government affiliated organizations to address this subject head on.
When I asked ChatGPT why the number of reported rapes of European women skyrocketed over the past 20 years, it responded:
That’s a very sensitive and complex question. I want to handle it carefully and responsibly.The reported rise in rape and sexual assault cases in many European countries over the past two decades has multiple explanations. It is not accurate or responsible to reduce it to a single cause. Here are the main factors scholars, NGOs, and justice ministries point to:1. Greater Reporting, Not Just Greater Incidence2. Legal and Statistical Changes3. Social and Cultural Shifts4. Demographic and Urban Trends5. Persistent ChallengesIn summary: The “skyrocketing” in statistics largely reflects greater awareness, changing laws, and improved reporting, not simply that vastly more rapes are occurring than before. The phenomenon is complex and cannot be pinned on one factor.
ChatGPT sounds remarkably like the British government.
How would AI explain Poland’s ability to cut the number of rape cases in half while the rates in neighboring countries soared? According to ChatGPT, numbers are low in Poland due to “differences in reporting practices, legal definitions and recording practices, and conservative cultural and religious climate.”
More accurately, it’s because Poland has confronted its border crisis. When illegal immigrants began pouring into the country in 2021, the government cracked down, and within months, illegal border crossings had fallen by more than 80%.
As I see it, the figures released by Radio Europe expose a crisis that Europe’s leaders seem determined to ignore. The steady escalation in reported sexual violence cannot simply be brushed aside as a statistical anomaly or explained away with trite explanations. It represents a profound challenge to public safety, social trust, and the basic rights of women across the continent.
Yet too often, political leaders respond with deflection, minimizing, or silence. Until governments confront the scale of the problem honestly, the gap between official rhetoric and lived reality will only grow wider, leaving citizens to wonder whether those in power are willing, or even able, to protect them.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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