On International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Federal Association for Perpetrator Work on Domestic Violence (BAG Täterarbeit Häusliche Gewalt) feels compelled to draw attention to the issue of femicide and domestic violence against women and children. Every year, hundreds of women worldwide are killed or seriously injured at the hands of their partners or ex-partners simply because they are women. The Federal Association for Perpetrator Work on Domestic Violence condemns all forms of male violence against women and their children and emphasises: “Violence against women and their children in any form is cowardly and shameful.”
It was only in 2015 that Latin American women brought the issue of femicide into the closer focus of global society. BAG Täterarbeit Häusliche Gewalt supports this movement and, quoting Leonie Steinl, Chair of the Criminal Law Commission of the German Women Lawyers Association, points out that whether in Germany or Mexico: “Hatred of women is not an isolated phenomenon, but is embedded in patriarchal social structures.”
A process of rethinking is urgently needed in our society. Therefore, the Federal Association for Perpetrator Work on Domestic Violence demands that it is time to live gender equality instead of just talking about it. Only in this way can femicide and domestic violence be effectively prevented. The Istanbul Convention – the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – which also applies in Germany, obliges signatory states under Article 16 to establish programmes for perpetrators of violence, so that the role of working with perpetrators can be guaranteed to protect those affected (victims). Even though much has happened in recent years due to the feminist movement, there are still insufficient financial resources and well-trained specialists available here to protect the women and children affected. For this reason, the Federal Association for Perpetrator Work on Domestic Violence also calls for the urgently required expansion of specialist advice centres and residential facilities (women’s shelters) for those affected, and for these to be equipped with the necessary financial resources.
As a rule, femicides are very well prepared when carried out by men. For this reason, the Federal Association for Perpetrator Work on Domestic Violence demands that the killing of partners or ex-partners by male perpetrators should be legally assessed as murder, or at least examined as such.
Figures on femicide and domestic violence:
Together with Federal Family Minister Franziska Giffey and the head of the nationwide helpline, Petra Söchting, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) published the annual crime statistics on domestic partner violence in Germany on 10 November 2020: the police recorded a total of 141,792 victims of domestic violence for the year 2019. 81 per cent of those affected (114,903) were women.
For 117 women, the violence by their (ex-)partner ended fatally. This once again results in the shocking image of one woman killed every third day. 301 attempted killings of women by their (former) partner were recorded. Furthermore, these figures only represent the so-called ‘reported cases’. It can be assumed that only a fraction of violent acts in partnerships are recorded by the police. Experts suspect that 75–80 per cent of cases go unreported. The figures are alarming and have remained at almost the same level for years.
