Society: Nancy Faeser: Need to Empower Victims of Domestic Violence

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Nancy Faeser: Must Empower Victims of Domestic Violence

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) appeals to victims of domestic violence to report the crimes more often. “It is unbearable when victims of domestic violence remain silent out of shame. We must encourage them to report the crimes so that more perpetrators can be held criminally responsible,” said Faeser. Together with the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs and the Federal Criminal Police Office, the Ministry of the Interior is currently preparing a nationwide situation report on the subject of domestic violence, which was first reported on by “Welt am Sonntag”.

According to research by the newspaper at the state criminal investigation offices and the interior ministries of the federal states, 179,179 victims of domestic violence were registered with the police across Germany last year. That corresponds to an increase of 9.3 percent compared to 2021. A total of 15 federal states reported significantly more victims than in the previous year – only in Bremen / Bremerhaven did the number fall. According to information from “WamS”, two thirds of those affected are women.

“It’s a terrible thought that your own home can become a place of horror. Violence within your own four walls affects many women, but also children and those in need of care,” said Interior Minister Faeser. It’s about beatings and abuse, but also about stalking and psychological terror.

“In order to be able to act in a targeted manner, valid and reliable data is indispensable. Unfortunately, we have a very large number of unreported cases in this area,” Faeser continued. The data should therefore be included in the situation report, which is to be presented in Berlin on July 3rd.

dpa