Berlin: 20 women killed by partner or ex since 2023

Berlin – Numerous women in Berlin have become victims of femicide in recent years. Since 2023, a total of 20 women have been killed by a man as a result of intimate partner or domestic violence, according to the Senate Interior Administration's response to a query from the Green Party parliamentary group in the House of Representatives, which the "Tagesspiegel" newspaper (Friday edition) reported in advance. According to the report, last year women were victims of violent crimes in their relationships in 9,908 cases. These include offenses such as coercion, stalking, or sexual abuse. More than 5,800 of these cases involved physical assault, over 700 of which were serious bodily harm. Men were also the victims of domestic violence in 2,674 cases. To protect against further crimes within a relationship, the Berlin police carried out a total of 2,088 eviction orders against partners last year. This involves confiscating the perpetrators' house keys. They are then prohibited from entering the partner's home for a maximum of 14 days. At the same time, last year the police registered nearly 1,700 violations of the prohibition on approaching and entering shared accommodation contained in the Violence Protection Act. Given these figures, Bahar Haghaniour, the Green Party's spokesperson for women's policy, believes that current measures to protect women are insufficient. "Being a woman in Germany is a security risk. We Greens therefore demand better protection against violence. Because it saves lives," she told the "Tagesspiegel" newspaper. The current maximum period of 14 days for removal orders is too short. The Greens therefore called for an extension of the removal order to four weeks.