German minister: Domestic violence victims must be able to feel safe

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has called for a strict approach to cases of domestic violence.

“Perpetrators of violence must not quickly disappear off the radar. They must be expelled from the home after the first violent assault,” Faeser told the mass-circulation Bild newspaper.

“And this must be consistently controlled so that perpetrators do not quickly return. Every woman affected must be able to feel safe from renewed violence,” she said, adding that violence against women must not be dismissed as a private issue.

In cases of bodily harm or significant threats, courts can, for example, prohibit the perpetrator under the Protection Against Violence Act from entering the shared home or approaching the victim’s home.

Faeser, Family Affairs Minister Lisa Paus and the president of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, plan to present the nationwide situation report on domestic violence in Berlin on Tuesday.

The newspaper, citing the BKA, reported that in 2022, 157,550 cases of violence in partnerships were recorded by the authorities, which corresponds to 432 cases per day. In 2021, there were 144,044 cases, meaning there was an increase of 9.4% last year.

About 80% of the victims were women, and 78% of the suspects were men.

In mid-June, Die Welt newspaper reported that according to research at the state criminal investigation offices and interior ministries of the federal states, 179,179 victims of domestic violence were registered by the police throughout Germany last year. This was an increase of 9.3% compared to 2021.