A new analysis by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) released on Tuesday has shown that cases of domestic violence against women has risen in Germany in 2023.

According to the agency, a total of 180,715 women reported being victims of domestic violence during 2023, an increase of 5.6 per cent over the year before.

Michael Kretschmer, vice president of the BKA, said “the facts and figures show that hate and violence against women are a growing social problem.”

At the presentation of the analysis in Berlin, Kretschmer said that misogyny online has been “the driver” of the increase in violence against women.

Overall, women and girls accounted for 70.5 per cent of all victims of reported incidents of domestic violence, according to BKA.

Investigators also believe that a large number of cases go unreported to authorities, particularly incidents of digital harassment and intimate partner violence.

The BKA has also recorded an increase in sexual offenses. In 2023, 52,330 women and girls were victims of sexual offences, 6.2 per cent more than in 2022.

According to the figures, half of the victims were under the age of 18.

Kretschmer emphasized that investigators had noticed an increase in all crimes specifically targeting women in 2023.

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This also applies to the number of attempted and completed homicides of women, a crime often referred to as femicide.

In 2023, 938 girls and women were victims of attempted or completed femicides, 1 per cent more than in 2022. A total of 360 women and girls died as a result.

Of the killings that took place in the context of intimate relationships, 80.6 per cent of all victims were female, according to the report. NAN