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CRIME

Domestic violence on the rise in Germany with one woman killed every three days

The number of victims of domestic violence in Germany is rising, new figures show.

Published: 25 November 2019 17:19 CET
Domestic violence on the rise in Germany with one woman killed every three days
Domestic abuse is rising in Germany. Photo: DPA

Last year 122 women in Germany were killed by their partner or ex-partner, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).

“Every day an attempt takes place, every third day the attempt is actually carried out,” said Family Minister Franziska Giffey, of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), reported Spiegel on Monday.

In total, more than 114,000 women were victims of domestic violence, threats or coercion by their husbands, partners or ex-partners in 2018.

BKA data shows the number of deaths fell by 25 last year compared to 2017. Overall, however, there were more cases of violence. The number rose from 113,965 to 114,393 during this time.

Graph prepared for The Local by Statista. 

Giffey was set to reveal the latest figures on domestic violence at a presentation in Berlin on Monday. The event is taking place on November 25th, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The offences recorded by German police range from bodily harm to murder and manslaughter. Giffey said the figures were alarming – especially as the number of unreported cases is likely even higher.

In 2018, a total of 140,000 people were victims of domestic abuse, the SPD politician said. The proportion of women affected is more than 81 percent.

There were also some 26,000 men who were threatened, coerced or attacked by their partners or ex-partners. There has been an increasing number of male victims in recent years.

What's Germany doing to help victims?

The government is aiming raise awareness and encourage victims of abuse to seek support. A website has been set up with information for victims as part of a nationwide initiative.

Germany also wants to expand its number of refuge centres for women. Nationwide there are currently about 350 women's shelters.

Within the next four years, the government wants to provide €120 million for women's shelters and women's counselling centres. Women affected by violence will be legally entitled to a place in a shelter in future, the government hopes. “This will be our future aim,” said Giffey.

At the moment, however, centres are overcrowded and there are not enough spaces. Giffey said there were gaps in rural areas as well as big cities and the government wanted to address these problems.

Vocabulary

Domestic violence – (die) häusliche Gewalt

Violence in relationships – (die) Partnerschaftsgewalt

Bodily harm – (die) Körperverletzung

Murder – (der) Mord

Manslaughter – (der) Totschlag

Attempt – (der) Versuch

Nationwide initiative – (die) bundesweite Initiative

Women's shelters – (die) Frauenhäusern

We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

CRIME

Germany arrests Syrian man accused of plotting to kill soldiers

German authorities said Friday they had arrested a 27-year-old Syrian man who allegedly planned an Islamist attack on army soldiers using two machetes in Bavaria.

Published: 13 September 2024 11:17 CEST
Germany arrests Syrian man accused of plotting to kill soldiers

The suspect, an “alleged follower of a radical Islamic ideology”, was arrested on Thursday on charges of planning “a serious act of violence endangering the state”.

The man had acquired two heavy knives “around 40 centimetres (more than one foot) in length” in recent days, prosecutors in Munich said.

He planned to “attack Bundeswehr soldiers” in the city of Hof in northern Bavaria during their lunch break, aiming “to kill as many of them as possible”, prosecutors said.

“The accused wanted to attract attention and create a feeling of insecurity among the population,” they said.

German security services have been on high alert over the threat of Islamist attacks, in particular since the Gaza war erupted on October 7th with the Hamas attacks on Israel.

Police shot dead a man in Munich this month after he opened fire on officers in what was being treated as a suspected “terrorist attack” on the Israeli consulate in Munich.

The shootout fell on the anniversary of the kidnap and killing of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games by Palestinian militants.

The 18-year-old suspect had previously been investigated by authorities in his home country Austria on suspicion of links to terrorism but the case had been dropped.

The incident capped a string of attacks in Germany, which have stirred a sense of insecurity in Germany and fed a bitter debate of immigration.

Three people were killed last month in a suspected Islamist stabbing at a festival in the western city of Solingen.

READ ALSO: ‘Ban asylum seekers’ – How Germany is reacting to Solingen attack

The suspect in the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group, was a Syrian man who had been slated for deportation from Germany.

A federal interior ministry spokesman said if an Islamist motive was confirmed in the latest foiled attack, it would be “further evidence of the high threat posed by Islamist terrorism in Germany, which was recently demonstrated by the serious crimes in Mannheim and the attack in Solingen, but also by acts that were fortunately prevented by the timely intervention of the security authorities”.

The Solingen stabbing followed a knife attack in the city of Mannheim in May, which left a policeman dead, and which had also been linked to Islamism by officials.

Germany has responded to the attacks by taking steps to tighten immigration controls and knife laws.

READ ALSO: Debt, migration and the far-right – the big challenges facing Germany this autumn

The government has announced new checks along all of its borders and promised to speed up deportations of migrants who have no right to stay in Germany.

The number of people considered Islamist extremists in Germany fell slightly from 27,480 in 2022 to 27,200 last year, according to a report from the federal domestic intelligence agency.

But Interior Minister Nancy Faeser warned in August that “the threat posed by Islamist terrorism remains high”.

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