The police have been collecting data on intimate partner violence since 2015. The number of victims has increased by eleven percent since then. However, most crimes in this area are unlikely to be reported at all.
Berlin – The number of reported acts of violence among couples and ex-partners increased even more in 2020 than in previous years.
According to the latest statistics on intimate partner violence, the authorities registered 146,655 cases nationwide in the past year in which a current or former partner used violence or tried to do so – an increase of 4.9 percent compared to the previous year. 139 women and 30 men were killed by their current or former partner.
When someone reports to the police, it was mostly – in 61.6 percent of the cases – a matter of willful, simple assault. Threats, stalking or coercion were reported much less frequently. Other offenses covered by these statistics include dangerous bodily harm, rape, deprivation of liberty, forced prostitution, murder and manslaughter.
Who are the perpetrators?
As the data published on Tuesday by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) show, the majority of the violence continues to be committed by men. However, the proportion of female suspects has increased slightly in recent years – to 20.9 percent.
Around 34 percent of the offenders recorded are foreigners. It is noticeable that the proportion of men among Syrian suspects at 91.5 percent and among Turkish suspects at 88.3 percent is above average, while the proportion of male Polish suspects is 74.2 percent below the average for all male suspects.
Separation, professional stress, arguments about parenting issues – there are many reasons for aggression. According to the President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch, the factors that generally favor violence in intimate relationships include “pronounced patriarchal role models” and experiences of violence in childhood.
Who are the victims?
Around four out of five victims (80.5 percent) were women last year. People in their fourth decade of life were most frequently affected. Every third victim was between 30 and 39 years old. Almost 38 percent of the victims experienced violence by an ex-partner. Almost every third victim (32.3 percent) was married to the suspect, while 29.4 percent lived in a non-marital partnership. The fact that married people tend to persist in a toxic relationship longer than unmarried people indicates that almost half of all people who were victims of homicide in the past year (47.2 percent) were married to the perpetrator.
Has the corona pandemic worsened the situation?
The fact that violence in couple relationships or between ex-partners has increased sharply due to the measures to contain the corona pandemic cannot be easily read from the police statistics. Because the data relate to cases in which the investigations were completed in 2020. The act itself may have been committed earlier. If one takes a targeted look at the acts of violence committed during the months of the (partial) lockdown, the increase is relatively small compared to the respective period of the previous year.
However, the police assume that such acts were discovered less often by third parties during the period of contact restrictions. In addition, it is more difficult for those affected to report to the police if the violent partner is constantly nearby. At the helpline “Violence against women”, where those affected can call 08000 116 016, the number of counseling sessions rose by 15 percent compared to the previous year.
Big dark field
When it comes to intimate partner violence, the police assume that the vast majority of crimes will not be reported. A study is planned to illuminate the dark field. A scientific advisory board has worked out the criteria for this.
What about misogyny crimes – so-called femicides?
The Conference of Interior Ministers decided in June to draw up proposals for recording and combating crimes targeted specifically against women. At the next conference of interior ministers in December, a federal-state working group will report on how things should proceed. For the executive minister of women, Christine Lambrecht (SPD), it is important that an “excessive idea of possession” by perpetrators who kill their partner or sister, for example, is named as a low motivation in court, which then exacerbates the punishment. Lambrecht also refers to the Violence Protection Act. This helps victims of intimate partner violence to ensure that the perpetrator has to leave their home. dpa
