Status: 11/23/2021 2:01 p.m.
Last year, the number of reported cases of intimate partner violence rose by 4.9 percent – in 169 cases the violence ended fatally. However, it is difficult to make clear statements about an increase in violence in lockdown.
The police recorded a significant increase in violence in partnerships and between ex-partners over the past year. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the authorities counted 146,655 cases nationwide in 2020 in which a current or former partner exercised or attempted violence. This is an increase of 4.9 percent compared to the previous year.
139 women and 30 men were victims of deadly intimate partner violence in 2020. A year earlier there were 117 women and 32 men.
The BKA data show that the majority of the violence continues to be perpetrated by men. The proportion of female suspects has increased slightly in recent years – to 20.9 percent.
Around 38 percent of the cases after the separation
The statistics also break down the relationships between victims and perpetrators. According to this, in 37.9 percent of the cases recorded, the violence took place between former partners, in 32.3 percent between spouses and in 29.4 percent between partners in unmarried partnerships. No information is available for 0.4 percent of the cases.
The data refer to cases where the investigation was closed in 2020. The act itself may have been committed earlier.
Is there a lockdown effect?
The report emphasizes that the police crime statistics only cover the “police brightfield” and are therefore strongly influenced by the reporting behavior of the population. An increase or decrease in the number is therefore always influenced by how large the proportion of acts actually reported is. The crime statistics thus “do not represent a true reflection of the crime situation”.
Therefore, the effect of the measures to contain the corona pandemic cannot be easily read. If one looks 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.
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