The four walls of our home are our shelter. Sometimes, however, even in this protected place, violence prevails. Last year German police recorded more than 256,000 incidents of domestic violence between current and former partners – 7% more than in 2022.

“The vast majority of victims are women. And in three out of four cases the perpetrators are men,” said Interior Minister Nancy Feser when the data was presented in Berlin. The most terrifying fact is that in 2023, 155 women were murdered by their current or former partner.

According to the vice president of the Federal Criminal Service, Martina Link, the increase in violence is largely due to “social crises” such as the pandemic. In addition, victims are more willing to talk about the abuse they have suffered, reducing the number of incidents that never go public.

Institutions for battered women are full

“I expected such an increase in numbers,” Stephanie Knaab tells DW. The 33-year-old had herself suffered sexual, physical and mental abuse from a partner for four years. Today she fights to support other victims of violence with her association “A future without violence”. “The numbers have been increasing for years. And every year we are amazed again, but nothing changes. This is something that causes me great discomfort.”

Germany still lacks the necessary support structures for victims of abuse. Currently the social institutions for the protection of abused women can accommodate a total of about 7,000 women and children. According to the experts, however, at least 14,000 more places are needed, in order to include all the victims who need protection. “This can’t go on any longer,” says Knaab. “In view of the increasing incidents, we definitely need more places in the institutions, more protection. If every second woman is rejected – where will these women be able to turn?”

“There is a lack of places everywhere and we constantly hear from social institutions that they are forced to turn away women who ask for protection every day”, confirms for her part Zibile Schreiber, head of the Union of Coordination of Institutions for the Protection of Women. At the same time, protection from violence is not free: according to a survey, the state would have to give up to 1.6 billion euros a year to help all victims – so far only 300 million euros have been spent.

Enforceable right of protection?

Of course, there are also some positive developments. The federal government is planning a new law on protection from violence and abuse, which will provide, among other things, that every woman who asks for protection will receive it.

DW has access to a draft of the law, which calls for an enforceable “right to protection and legal advice” at no cost to all victims. In this way, pressure will be exerted at both federal and state level to increase the number of posts in social institutions. However, there is still controversy over who will provide the necessary resources.

Federalism also poses another problem here, as Schreiber explains. “It is possible that a woman will not be able to stay longer in Berlin, for example, because her partner will be able to locate her relatively quickly. Then she just has to leave, go to another state, where there’s an even bigger question about who’s going to pay for her protection.” But the bill seems to have the answer to this, stating that “people who have suffered violence can be admitted to any institution, regardless of their place of residence”.

Schreiber, Knaab and many other women’s rights activists say the new law should be passed immediately. Furthermore, they want to see a comprehensive strategy for dealing with domestic violence, in the light of the Istanbul Convention, which Germany has also signed.

As Knaab points out, Germany could see what has been done in other countries. “Spain is leading the world in the fight against gender-based violence in relationships.” According to a 2004 law “in every town, no matter how small, there is a counseling service, there is an institution for battered women, as well as special units in the police and special courts.”

Social perceptions must also change

“Something has to be done at the political level,” Christina Diamanti, an expert on toxic relationships and violence in relationships, told DW. But what should change primarily is the way in which society treats women who have been abused. It refers to the stereotypes, such as that of the “hysterical woman”, whom no one believes and stigmatizes as mentally ill.

Diamanti has also suffered violence in one of her relationships. “I was a victim of rape, isolation, financial exploitation and mental humiliation. Belittlement, humiliation, insults – I experienced all these every day.” Since escaping this environment seven years ago, she has devoted herself to counseling women facing similar problems.

“In toxic relationships, dominated by violence and ending violently – in the worst cases with femicide – a certain scenario is usually observed,” Diamanti adds. They begin with the so-called Love-Bombing-Phase, during which women receive enormous love and attention. And then the abuse and violence begins insidiously and subtly. A separation often follows and then comes the “hoovering”, in which the man wins back his partner. A pattern the expert has noticed in the stories of hundreds, if not thousands, of women she has spoken to.

An app for victims of violence

Stephanie Knaab’s experiences are similar: “The violence was not constantly present 365 days a year, there were phases. The perpetrator is sometimes completely loving, while other days he is not.” Knaab had begun writing letters to herself, documenting the violence she endured. “And at some point later I read them again and realized that there is a pattern – and that I need to get out of this situation.”

Today Knaab wants to help other abused women trapped in such violent relationships. That is why he has created an app, which users can use as a calendar. There the attacks they have received are recorded in such a way that they can be presented before the court. In addition, user entries can be forwarded to help desks. The German state is involved in promoting the app, which is currently available for women in Berlin and Lower Saxony and is to be expanded further. In this way, Knaab hopes to contribute as much as she can, so that the incidence of domestic violence in Germany does not increase any further.

Edited by: Giorgos Passas