Femicide occurs almost daily in Germany, report shows

Berlin, Nov 19 Femicide occurred almost daily in Germany last year, with women falling victim to domestic violence every three minutes, according to a report released by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) on Tuesday.

Among the findings, 68.6 per cent of homicides involving female victims in 2023 were linked to domestic violence, indicating that most women and girls were killed by family members or intimate partners.

A total of 180,715 women reported being victims of domestic violence during 2023, a 5.6 per cent increase compared to the previous year, it said.

"Violence against women concerns us all," said Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser at the press conference for the report's release. "They become victims because they are women. This is intolerable -- and requires consistent action."

The report also documented a rise in sexual offenses, with 52,330 female victims in 2023, a 6.2 per cent increase from the previous year. In cases involving at least one female victim, the overwhelming majority of suspects were male, Xinhua news agency reported.

"In addition to harsh punishments, we need mandatory anti-violence training and electronic ankle bracelets so that the perpetrators can actually change their behaviour and no longer approach affected women unnoticed," Faeser said.