Partner violence includes all forms of physical, sexual and/or psychological violence between people. It does not matter whether the people are in a marriage, registered partnership or simply living together. It is also irrelevant which sexual orientation is involved. What is important is that the persons are in a relationship based on partnership. The place of the offense can be on the street, at work or in other places. However, the most common crime scene is at home.
Partner violence manifests itself in many different ways:
- Ignoring needs and sensitivities,
- Humiliation,
- insults, humiliation and intimidation,
- threats,
- psychological, physical and sexual abuse,
- deprivation of liberty,
- Rape,
- attempted or completed murder.
Partnership violence is not a separate criminal offense. There are numerous criminal offenses such as assault, insult, coercion or rape that trigger ex officio police action.
Facts on "intimate partner violence":
- Accidental violence is not a private matter and not a petty offense!
- The perpetrators will be prosecuted.
- Partner violence is committed regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, social class or origin.
- One in four women in Germany has experienced intimate partner violence at some point in her life.
- The majority of suspects registered by the police are male.
- Partner violence is a permanent or repeat offense.
- Partnership violence has a negative impact on the development of children and young people living in this relationship.
- Principle for police action: "If you hit, you leave!" (expulsion from the home)
- The police refer victims individually to victim support organizations
Partner violence affects all levels of education and income equally. It exists in all age groups, nationalities, religions and cultures. Intimate partner violence does not arise from a specific situation. Rather, it is an expression of an ongoing relationship of power and dependency between the perpetrator and the victim. Relationships in which violence is perpetrated are often subject to a dynamic of their own that follows a certain pattern. It is typical that the situation calms down at first and the perpetrator apologizes, but then becomes violent again. Over time, the intervals between the individual outbreaks of violence may become shorter and the severity of the violence increases. Studies for Germany and Europe show that around a quarter of all women in Germany are victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives. Children are also affected by this violence if they learn about violence as a conflict resolution pattern in their family, experience violence themselves or observe it.