The number of victims of domestic violence in Germany has increased considerably in the past year. As WELT’s research at the interior ministries and state criminal police offices of the 16 federal states has shown, more than 255,000 victims were registered by the police nationwide. This corresponds to an increase of around seven percent compared to 2022.

Partners, ex-partners and family members are recorded as perpetrators. Two thirds of the victims are women. The number of unreported cases is high because many of those affected do not dare to report the crime.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) and the Vice President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Martina Link, will present the report entitled “Domestic Violence. Situation report for the reporting year 2023” in Berlin on Thursday. According to the report, the police have registered significantly more victims of domestic violence in all 16 federal states.

The data from the states are included in the national situation report, which is prepared by the BKA. Domestic violence includes murder, manslaughter, rape and deprivation of liberty. However, the majority of the cases are physical assault, threats, coercion and stalking. The latter is partly shifting from the analogue to the virtual world as a result of increasing digitalisation.

When comparing the states, it becomes clear that there are regional differences in domestic violence. The state of Bremen/Bremerhaven recorded the largest increase at 34.6 percent (3,791 victims). This was followed by Saxony-Anhalt (plus 12.4 percent, 8,238 victims) and Baden-Württemberg (plus 9.8 percent, 16,436 victims).

This is followed by the city state of Hamburg (plus 9.4 percent, 7,978 victims), Brandenburg (plus 8.9 percent, 6,673 victims), Berlin (plus 8.8 percent, 18,784 victims) and Lower Saxony (plus 8.7 percent, 26,891 victims) with above-average values.

Bavaria is a special case. There, the years 2023 (28,081) and 2022 (26,467 victims) are difficult to compare because the Free State has started a “re-survey” of the figures. Until the end of 2022, domestic violence there only included violence from partners and ex-partners.

The smallest increase in domestic violence was recorded in Thuringia (plus 1.1 percent, 6,551 victims), Saarland (1.4 percent, 3,224 victims) and Rhineland-Palatinate (plus 1.7 percent, 13,810 victims). In all federal states, the police have legal options to expel violent people from the shared apartment and issue a “barring order”.

How does the BKA define domestic violence? This includes both so-called “partner violence” and “intra-family violence”. Partner violence includes victims and suspects who were or are in a relationship – spouses, registered civil partnerships, partners in non-marital relationships and former partnerships.

In cases of domestic violence, it is the victims and suspects who are related to each other – for example children (including foster, adopted and stepchildren), siblings, grandchildren, parents (including foster, adopted and stepparents), grandparents, in-laws, uncles and cousins.

“Domestic violence includes all forms of physical, sexual or psychological violence and includes family and partner violence,” the situation report states. Domestic violence always occurs when the violence takes place between people who live together in a partnership or family relationship. “It also occurs when it occurs independently of a shared household within the family or in current or former partnerships,” the situation report states.

The President of the German Caritas Association, Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, told WELT: “Domestic violence has many faces: women and men from all walks of life are victims of violent partners. Rape in a relationship is as common as beatings or abuse with objects.” The perpetrators are often drunk. High rent costs and the tight housing market also contribute to “perpetuating” domestic violence.

According to the president, the Caritas women’s shelters and the Catholic Women’s Social Service confirm a “rising demand” for places in women’s shelters and counseling appointments in the specialist centers. “The official number of men seeking help for violence in their relationships is also increasing,” she reports. The number of inquiries at the men’s counseling centers is “persistently high.”

Maria Loheide, head of social policy at the Diakonie, called the increase in victims alarming. “The renewed increase in domestic violence is alarming, but not unexpected,” Loheide told WELT. She fears that the BKA’s planned study of dark figures entitled “Living situation, security and stress in everyday life” planned for next year will confirm “the trend towards an increase in domestic violence.”

What is needed now is a “violence assistance law that guarantees all women affected by violence a legal right to protection and advice.” Until now, protection from violence has been a voluntary service provided by local authorities. “And on the other hand, victims of violence sometimes have to pay a personal contribution of up to 50 euros per day for their stay in a women’s shelter,” says Loheide.

For affected women, there is an app from the association “Violence-free into the future”, which has been funded by the Federal Ministry of the Interior since October 2023. This will amount to 3.7 million euros by the end of 2026. By pressing the mobile phone display, the app can be used to send an emergency call to the police without having to speak to them. This way, perpetrators should not notice when a victim contacts the police.

So far, the helpline used primarily is the “Violence against Women” helpline, which is available around the clock on 116 016. Last year, the phone number celebrated its tenth anniversary: ​​according to the report, the number of users is higher than ever before.

The 2023 annual report shows that counseling contacts (including online) have increased by twelve percent to around 59,048 compared to the previous year. The service is anonymous, free of charge and available in 18 foreign languages. There is a separate helpline for men at 0800-1239900.

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