Germany: Foreigners are disproportionately represented in domestic violence

Wiesbaden - The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) recorded 146,655 cases of violent acts in partnerships last year. Compared to 2019, this is an increase of 4.9 percent. With a share of 34.2 percent, foreign suspects are again represented disproportionately often in the BKA evaluation this year.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, non-Germans made up around 12.5 percent of the population in 2020. The BKA evaluation does not provide any information about a possible migration background of the Germans accused.

Non-German suspects are most often of Turkish origin
As in the previous year, the foreign suspects most often came from Turkey with 15.8 percent. This was followed by Syrians with 8.3 percent. Poles and Romanians followed in third and fourth place with 7.9 and 5.7 percent, respectively. Afghans made up a share of 4.6 percent.

Immigrants who were allowed or not allowed to stay in Germany are also recorded separately in the statistics. Last year they made up around 2.2 percent of the total German population. Their share in the acts of violence was 4.7 percent.

BKA: Not origin, but social background is decisive
The majority of the suspects (79.1 percent) were male and in most cases directed the violence against their former partners. Most often, 61.6 percent, they were charged with willful simple bodily harm. Around 22.3 percent of the victims were threatened, stalked or coerced. This was followed by dangerous physical injuries (12.2 percent). The proportion of rape, sexual coercion or sexual assault was 2.3 percent.

"Various studies suggest that certain migrant groups are more likely to be affected by intimate partner violence," the analysis said. The reason for this is not characteristics of origin such as values, norms or gender roles, but socio-economic factors.

Source: Junge Freiheit