The press conference on intimate partner violence lasted around an hour on Tuesday morning. During this time, an average of 13 women in Germany would be victims of violence, perpetrated by current or former partners, reported Federal Family Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD). A woman is killed every two and a half days. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, a total of 148,031 people in Germany were victims of intimate partner violence last year. That is 4.4 percent more than in the previous year. 80.5 percent of the victims are female. Slightly more than a third of the perpetrators are former partners, the other acts are committed in existing marital or civil partnerships. More than half of the victims lived in the same household with the suspect.

Home should be a safe place, said Lambrecht, but for many women it will be a “place of horror”.

She appealed to be careful with the choice of words.

"If a partner engages in violence, it is not a tragedy, but nothing more than a violent crime." This should no longer be allowed, "we have to be very clear about it."

Lambrecht recalled that the criminal law had only been tightened in the last legislative period: stalkers can now be stopped before they become violent.

Protection against violence has also been expanded: If sexual self-determination is violated or threatened, the victims can ensure that the perpetrator is not near them and is not allowed to enter their home.

A considerable dark field

Nevertheless, violence in partnerships has been increasing unchecked since 2015. However, the Federal Criminal Police Office can only provide information about the cases registered by the police. "That is the bright field," said Holger Münch, the President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, who presented the criminal analysis of his agency with Lambrecht on Tuesday. One must assume a "very significant dark field", said Münch. According to studies based on surveys of victims, the dark field could make up 90 percent, said Münch, so there are actually almost twice as many victims. In the case of physical violence, it may be a little less than 90 percent, because such crimes are more likely to be noticed by others. In the case of acts such as threats, stalking or coercion, Münch suspects, it could even be more.

In the bright field of intimate partner violence, willful bodily harm is the most common offense with around 61 percent of the offenses recorded. In second place come threats, stalking and coercion with a good 22 percent. 0.3 percent of the crimes are murder and manslaughter. In absolute numbers, there are still many people: 359 women and 101 men were victims of homicides last year.

The majority of the suspects are men, only 20.9 percent are women. The proportion of foreigners is around 34 percent. Among the Syrian suspects, the proportion of men is 91.5 percent, higher than the average, as is 88.3 percent among the Turkish suspects. On the other hand, there is an above-average number of women among the Polish suspects (25.8 percent). According to Münch, the factors that generally favor violence in partnerships include “pronounced patriarchal role models” and experience of violence in childhood.

There is no clear picture on the question of whether the corona lockdowns last year led to an increase in violence in partnerships.

An increase in the number of crimes was observed in April and May, while the number of crimes fell in November and December, said Münch.

However, it could be that friends, colleagues or other acquaintances became less aware of criminal offenses due to the contact restrictions, so that fewer reports were made.

At the helpline “Violence against women”, where those affected can contact the number 08000-116 016, the number of consultations rose by 15 percent compared to the previous year.

We receive a request about domestic violence every 20 minutes, reported Petra Söchting, the helpline manager.