society
Deadly violence once morest women
“We are noticing an increase in domestic violence during telephone consultations.” Photo: Maurizio Gambarini/dpa/Symbolbild
© dpa-infocom GmbH
When women turn to the state following their partner has threatened to kill them, the latter often reacts helplessly, according to the assessment of the White Ring. A project shows how women can be protected.
The case of a 39-year-old woman and her four-year-old son is shocking: the woman’s ex-partner lies in wait for her and their child despite a ban on contact, stops her car with his car, smashes the window and first stabs the woman and then her son .
Not an isolated case: “Every three days in Germany a woman is killed by her partner or ex-partner,” says the President of the White Ring and former head of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Jörg Ziercke. Children are also often affected. Most perpetrators announced their crime beforehand.
In a fire letter to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), the heads of government of the federal states and numerous federal and state ministers, Ziercke calls for urgent action to be taken once morest this violence in partnerships with women. Among the approximately 70 addressees of his “concern of the highest urgency” is the new Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Anne Spiegel.
“We urgently need a nationwide regulation”
As state minister, the Green politician developed the Rhineland-Palatinate intervention project once morest violence in close social relationships (RIGG), which was launched in 2000 – an “exemplary” project, according to Ziercke. “We urgently need a nationwide regulation so that work can be done at this level in Germany as a whole,” he writes.
If the police in Rhineland-Palatinate are called because of violence in a relationship, they not only intervene, but then use a questionnaire to assess the risk. “There are standardized questionnaires for this,” reports the head of the women’s shelter and the intervention center in Bad Kreuznach, Petra Wolf. They are asked, for example, whether there has been violence before, whether the perpetrator made death threats, whether he used weapons, or whether he is constantly monitoring the woman. “When a certain number of points is reached, the case is classified as a high-risk case.”
Intimate partner violence increased during the pandemic
The woman is then asked whether the data can be shared with other authorities – such as an intervention center for protection once morest violence or the youth welfare office. “Data protection is a big challenge, if the woman doesn’t agree, it won’t work.” If they do, there are case conferences for experts – organized by the police. “Assessments are exchanged and next actions are considered,” reports Wolf. This can be addressing the perpetrator or being asked to take part in anti-violence training. This also includes offers from the youth welfare office for the children. “The risk of children who experience violence later becoming perpetrators or victims is very high.”
According to Ziercke, violence in partnerships and families increased significantly during the pandemic. “We are noticing an increase in domestic violence during telephone consultations,” reports Wolf. “This will make itself felt in the women’s shelters in the next three to four years.” On average, it takes a woman seven years to get out of a violent relationship. For many women, Corona is also an excuse for partner violence, according to the motto: “Otherwise he’s not like that.”
“It is primarily regarding safety for those affected”
The high-risk management began in 2015 with a pilot project, according to the family ministry in Mainz. The cases have risen steadily since 2018, to 521 in 2020. According to a study accompanying the project by the University of Koblenz-Landau in 2016, the probability of recurrence following an interdisciplinary case conference is around 20 percent, in the other cases it is 42 percent.
“It’s primarily regarding safety for those affected,” says Wolf. The consequences of a possible intervention by the police and youth welfare office for the woman and the behavior of the perpetrator must also be assessed. A fine for the perpetrator, for example, is often problematic because the family then lacks money or the woman is forced to raise the money. Minutes are taken at the conferences and it is precisely determined who must take which steps by when, and there must also be feedback. “A single act can appear harmless to outsiders,” says Wolf. “If you connect it to the dynamics over the years, you can see where it gets dangerous.”
The advice and help networks would become closer as a result of the high-risk conferences. “This also affects non-high-risk cases,” reports Wolf. The Rhineland-Palatinate Minister for Family and Women, Katharina Binz (Greens), says: “The secret of RIGG’s success is the network that has been built up over the years.” The project is constantly being developed and, for example, the places and offers in the women’s shelters are being increased.
