Domestic violence in Germany rose to record levels last year, according to figures from the country’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) released on Friday.
A total of 286 people were killed in domestic attacks, 95 male and 191 female.
“That means that 15 women are affected by intimate partner violence every hour in Germany,” said Family Minister Karin Prien.
Suspects in domestic violence last year were 75.6 percent male and 24.4 percent female, according to the BKA.
Prien noted that the official statistics do not include unreported cases, which may dwarf the official figures.
Ongoing research involving victims has shown that as few as five percent of all incidents of intimate partner violence are reported to authorities, according to the BKA.
BKA president Holger Muench said many victims decide not to report violence because of feelings of fear, dependency and shame.
The reported figures alone, however, make clear that “violence against women, violence in partnerships and violence in families is a serious and significant societal problem”, he said.
The total number of victims of domestic violence in 2024 was a 3.8 percent increase over the previous year, and continued a longer-term trend where cases have risen 17.8 percent over the past five years.
The rise in family violence — which includes both intimate partner violence and the abuse of children — may be driven in part by increased stress from unemployment, housing shortages and other problems, according to the BKA.
But awareness campaigns and expanded support services for victims may also have led to a greater proportion of the crimes being reported to police.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said that the statistics clearly show that the government is not doing enough to protect women and girls from violence.
“Significantly more needs to be done,” Dobrindt said while presenting the figures in Berlin.
