The level of domestic violence in Germany is alarming. Should Luxembourg take action
Plan International Germany conducted a survey of men between the ages of 18 and 35. It found that 33% of respondents thought it was acceptable to hit a woman, and 34% admitted that they would allow hitting to 'show respect'.
The results caused quite a stir. The news quickly reached the government, where the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Lisa Paus, described the results of the survey as "appalling" and announced her intention to secure the right of women to be protected from violence.
Luxembourg, which has had a similar law in place since 2003, is celebrating its anniversary this year. The country appears to be in a favourable light. It is true that violence is still a problem, as evidenced by the high rate of recidivism, but at the same time the trend has remained positive.
There is also an increase in the number of police interventions in cases of domestic violence. This shows that society is becoming more responsible and fairer. The number of complaints is still high, but the cases are now public. This means that effective measures can be taken to prevent and combat domestic violence.
The Grand Duchy also has a website, violence.lu. It offers help not only to the victims of violence, but also to the perpetrators. In order to find out the reasons for the behaviour and to prevent a repetition in the future, the perpetrator often needs help first.
Compared to 2021, the rate of domestic violence in Luxembourg has decreased by 3%. Women are the most common victims of domestic violence, accounting for 61% of cases. Men account for 39%. In 389 of these cases, the victims were children.
The problem of recidivism remains acute in society, despite the positive trend. In almost half of the cases, the perpetrator has already been prosecuted under an identical article. Violence most often occurs within couples and reveals another scourge of modern society — financial dependency. Often neither the victim nor the perpetrator can leave the relationship because of the catastrophic loss of money.
