Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
💡 In Germany, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) published its first-ever report last week on gender-specific crimes directed against women.
💡 Whether it’s domestic violence, online hate crimes, sexual offenses, or attempted and completed femicides, the statistics show an increase in female victims across all categories. Investigators also believe there is a significant number of unreported cases.
Number of Female Victims in 2023 (compared to 2022):
► Attempted and completed femicides: 938; 360 victims died (+1%)
► Sexual offenses: 52,330 (+6.2%)
► Human trafficking for sexual exploitation: 591 (+11.5%)
► Domestic violence: 180,715 (+5.6%)
► Digital violence: 17,193 (+25%)
► Politically motivated hate crimes: 322 (+56.3%)
💡 “The figures and facts show that hate and violence against women are an increasing societal problem,” states the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), noting that the digital space is a significant driver.
💡 The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Family Affairs are planning a new violence protection law. This would impose stricter measures against perpetrators (e.g., mandatory anti-violence training, electronic ankle monitors) and provide more attention and support for victims (e.g., expanding counseling and shelter infrastructure, such as women’s shelters).
👉 Susanne Kaiser, author of the book “Backlash. The New Violence Against Women,” explains the “feminist paradox” in her conversation with herCAREER: “The stronger women become, the greater the resistance.” She discusses why there is a backlash against gender equality, how this relates to a broken ideal of masculinity, and what a good first point of contact should be for women who experience violence.
👉 Digital violence and online hate—what can we do? Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Franziska Hilfenhaus explore this topic on the herCAREER podcast.
👉 Lena Högemann, author of the book “This Isn’t How I Wanted to Bring My Child Into the World,” discusses violence in delivery rooms on the podcast and what needs to change to allow women to give birth autonomously: “Birth without violence.”
👉 Attorney Christina Clemm, author of “Against Misogyny,” represents primarily mothers seeking to protect themselves and their children from violence by partners or fathers. “We need to become much more aware that domestic violence occurs in every environment, in every social class,” she says. Yet nobody seems to know the perpetrators: “Who are the perpetrators? Where are they? Because they are among us.”
💡 “Stop violence against women—NOW! The coalition government must not break its promise.” To ensure the planned Violence Support Act is implemented, the German Women’s Council and UN Women Germany have submitted an open letter to the federal government, which was handed over today with over 79,000 signatures.
Published by herCAREER,
Posted on LinkedIn on 25.11.2024
