“Promoting the value of education”: that is what is urged by Sylvia Kroll, professor of psychology and spokesperson of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) for social questions, in a communiqué issued on 2 June, to coincide with the meeting of the Commission of the German Parliament for the family, during which the new bill for the protection of juveniles was presented. “The protection of children and adolescents goes far beyond their protection from the dangers of videogames”, points out Kroll, who adds: “The provisions go in the right direction but protection cannot be exclusively ensured by bans”, even though it is certainly necessary to “prevent access to videogames that incite to violence”. The ZdK spokesperson also warns against the tendency “to limit the protection of children and adolescents to questions of the media” and recalls the problem of drug abuse, which she notes has hardly been mentioned in the aftermath of the Erfurt massacre”.
