Domestic violence in Germany has never been so high, new report shows

The number of victims of domestic violence in Germany reached a new high in 2024, German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reports, citing the latest data from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). Around 256,942 cases were registered—more than ever before, the report shows.

Compared to the previous year, this represents an increase of around 3.7 per cent, although experts warn that the number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher, as many offences in private settings are often not reported.

In 2023, official statistics showed the number of femicides in Germany was already almost three times as high as in the previous year— on average, a woman is killed almost every day, and in most cases, the perpetrator is the (ex-)partner.

Going by the rising numbers, the use of ankle bracelets for offenders is being proposed in Germany based on the Spanish model.

They are already in use in Hesse and Saxony, and the federal government says it is planning a nationwide regulation.

Germany to offer nationwide counselling service

According to the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, possible reasons for the rise in domestic violence are seen in a growing willingness to use violence "in the light of social crises and personal challenges."

However, the ministry also emphasised that a greater willingness to report violence could play a role.

Back in February, the Bundesrat - after the Bundestag - approved a law aimed at significantly improving the protection of victims of violence.

In the future, the federal states will be obliged to provide nationwide protection and counselling services. The federal government will provide a total of 2.6 billion euros for this between 2027 and 2036.

A legal entitlement to free protection and counselling is to apply from 1 January 2032. Until now, victims of domestic or gender-based violence have had to rely on existing capacities—for example, among women's refuges.

Another interesting fact: in 2023, the proportion of women who were not born in Germany and sought refuge in a women's shelter was 69 per cent, as in the previous year.

So, what is the situation like in other European countries?

Italy

In Italy, the anti-violence hotline 1522 received 48,000 calls and text messages in the first nine months of last year - an increase of 57 per cent compared to the same period in 2023.

The figures published by the Italian Ministry for Equal Opportunities show that many women sought help after the brutal murder of university student Giulia Cecchettin in November 2023, which sparked a major debate about feminicide in Italy.

Cecchettin had been killed by her ex-boyfriend Filippo Turetta, who was arrested near Leipzig after fleeing to Germany.

Turetta confessed the crime to the public prosecutor's office and said that Giulia "could not have belonged to anyone else."

In Italy, there is no official data on the number of victims of intimate partner violence or domestic violence recorded by the police each year.

Portugal

In Portugal, the police (PSP) said they arrested 1,281 people on suspicion of domestic violence in 2024, an increase of 310 (or 32%) more arrests and 282 (1.8%) more reports compared to the previous year.

The Metropolitan Police also registered 15,781 complaints relating to domestic violence. Of the 1,281 arrests registered, 625 were "in flagrante delicto," police said.

Spain

According to the Nacional de Estadística (INE), Spain recorded 8,860 victims of domestic violence against whom protection orders or restraining orders were issued in 2024, a decrease of 2.9% compared to the previous year.

60.6% of these victims were women, while the proportion of men was 39.4%, official data showed.

Overall, the number of murders of women in Spain has fallen by around a third since 2003.

The sharp drop comes after several dastardly acts of violence against women around the turn of the millennium triggered far-reaching changes.

At that time, women took to the streets across the country—with success: stricter laws and more comprehensive support services for those affected followed.

At the same time, however, the number of reported sexual offences has been rising continuously for years. Whether this is due to an actual increase in sexual violence or a growing willingness to report offences remains unclear. The Spanish Ministry of the Interior attributes the increase at least in part to the fact that such offences are less tolerated by society today - and the willingness to report offenders has increased.

Romania

The Romanian police announced that more than 61,000 cases of domestic violence were reported in the first six months of 2025, in almost equal proportions in urban and rural areas.

Police officers there intervened in 61,431 cases of domestic violence in the first half of 2025. However, figures show that the number of domestic violence-related offences fell by 19% in the first six months of the year compared to the previous year: from 28,117 to 22,742.

At 56% (12,807), "beatings and other violence" accounted for the largest proportion of offences in Romania.

Poland

Recent figures are not available in Poland, but in 2023, a law was introduced for additional measures that can be taken against perpetrators of domestic violence, including psychological and therapeutic programmes aimed at "preventing the perpetrator from continuing to use violence and developing self-control and non-violent conflict management skills".

Authorities say offenders who refuse to participate in these programmes face fines or even imprisonment. The law also allows for the confiscation of firearms, ammunition and gun licences from perpetrators of domestic violence.

According to a study commissioned by the government but never officially published, 60% of Polish women have experienced domestic violence, and 10% of men do not believe that marital rape is an offence.

England

Figures in England and Wales from last year to March 2024 estimate that around 2.3 million people aged 16 have experienced some form of domestic violence. Of this number, 1.6 million were women and 712,000 were men.

According to Women's Aid's Domestic Abuse Report 2024, social services reported that survivors often did not have enough money to pay for the things they and/or their children needed (79.8%) and that they relied on food banks (78.8%).

A disturbing 62.5% of services also reported that victims were economically unable to leave the perpetrator.

Even today, the way femicides are reported remains problematic, especially in the German media, where femicides are defined as "relationship drama" where perpetrators "lose control" of themselves.