Unrelenting brutality, intimidation, and shame: Persistent escalation of female victimization through violence
In the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany, the Intervention Center Trier has seen a significant rise in cases of domestic and partner violence over the past few years, particularly in 2024. This center is responsible for serving the areas of Trier, Saarburg, Konz, Schweich, Hermeskeil, and Morbach.
The center emphasizes that anyone affected, regardless of gender or personal situation, can contact them for help. This includes trans, non-binary, or queer individuals, as well as those from same-sex relationships. Victims most commonly reported physical and psychological violence, often combined, at the Intervention Center Trier in 2024.
Isabel Ahrweiler, who has been working at the center since 2021, has noticed a steady increase in the number of cases since she started. In 2024, the center recorded 419 reports of domestic and partner violence, which is an increase of 37 cases or nearly 10% compared to 2023. The Intervention Center Trier handled 69 high-risk cases in 2024, where women were at risk of severe violence or even death.
The women's shelters in the Trier region are almost always occupied. Nationwide, there is an online overview of available places in women's shelters, but often there are only one or two places available nationwide.
While specific data on the change over time in prevalence or reporting of domestic and partner violence against women in the Trier region is scarce, it is well documented elsewhere that during the COVID-19 pandemic, many regions saw an increase in reporting due to several factors. These include lockdowns and stay-at-home orders increasing victims' exposure to abusers while reducing access to external support systems, increased stressors such as economic hardship, job loss, and health anxieties exacerbating tensions within households, reduced visibility and contact with friends, family, and professionals lowering opportunities for informal disclosures, and improved awareness campaigns and adaptations by support services facilitating higher reporting rates.
Isabel Ahrweiler also noted that many women believe they can only go to the police when there is physical violence. In some cases, violence against women can result in fatalities, but these are not always recorded as gender-specific crimes in police statistics.
To prevent violence, education about healthy relationships, gender roles, and warning signs should start early with children and young people. Social media can contribute to this problem by portraying idealized relationships. Work with perpetrators, especially those who have not yet become criminally involved, should be expanded to prevent further violence.
The Intervention Center Trier works closely with other agencies, such as the police and youth welfare office, to help victims in high-risk situations as quickly as possible. Social violence, such as isolation or restriction of social contacts, is less frequently reported but is also serious, according to Isabel Ahrweiler. Estimates suggest that shame, outdated gender roles, and fear of damaging the image of a "perfect family" prevent many victims from seeking help.
The Intervention Center Trier is one of 18 intervention centers in Rhineland-Palatinate and advises victims of violence in close social relationships and stalking. The center encourages anyone who is experiencing or witnessing domestic or partner violence to reach out for help, regardless of the form it takes.
- The Intervention Center Trier, recognizing its dedication to serving everyone, emphasizes that it offers assistance to victims of health-and-wellness concerns, including those related to womens-health.
- Despite a lack of specific data on the change in prevalence or reporting of domestic and partner violence against women in the Trier region, it's widely documented that the science of psychology often reveals combinations of physical and psychological violence in such cases.
