The number of cases of domestic violence against women will increase in Germany in 2023, according to a new analysis by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), released on Tuesday.
A total of 180,715 women reported being victims of domestic violence in 2023, a 5.6% increase from the previous year, the agency said.
“The facts and figures show that hatred and violence against women are a growing social problem,” Michael Kretschmer, vice president of the BKA, said Tuesday during a presentation of the report in Berlin.
Kretschmer said misogyny online is “driving” the increase in violence against women.
According to BKA, women and girls made up a total of 70.5% of all victims of reported cases of domestic violence.
Researchers also believe that a large number of cases are not reported to authorities, especially cases of digital harassment and intimate partner violence.
The BKA has also noted an increase in the number of sexual crimes. In 2023, 52,330 women and girls were victims of sexual crimes: 6.2% more than in 2022.
According to the figures, half of the victims were under the age of 18.
Kretschmer highlighted that in 2023, researchers had noticed an increase in all crimes specifically targeting women. This includes the number of attempted and completed murders of women, a crime often called femicide.
In 2023, 938 girls and women were victims of attempted or completed femicide, 1% more than in 2022. A total of 360 women and girls died as a result.
Of the homicides that occurred in the context of intimate relationships, 80.6% of all victims were women, according to the report.
Kretschmer further explained that the risk of becoming a victim of femicide increases with age. The report found that women between the ages of 60 and 80 were most affected.
Another striking finding: the number of crimes based solely on misogynistic ideas increased by more than 56% in 2023 compared to 2022.
The report found that 322 crimes against women had been recorded where the motive for the crime was based solely on prejudice against women or the female gender.
According to the report, German authorities classify these incidents as political crimes – including insults (150), incitement to hatred (46) and coercion or threats (24). In 2022, there were a total of 206 crimes of this type.
