‘Less than five percent’ of domestic violence incidents in Germany reported

The survey by the interior and families ministries and the BKA federal police showed that around one in six people had experienced domestic violence at some point in their life.

Around 19 out of 20 of these cases went unreported, according to the study.

The survey of around 15,000 people aged 16 to 85 was carried out to establish the scale of unreported domestic and sexual violence in the country.

The overall reporting rate for both those categories of incidents was found to be around 10 percent.

“These figures reveal what has long been hidden: the number of unreported cases of domestic and sexual violence is huge,” said Families Minister Karin Prien.

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Men are affected by domestic violence almost as often as women, the report showed, but women are more likely to suffer serious injuries and be victims of sexual violence.

The study also showed that women, LGBTQ people, young people and ethnic minorities are more exposed to all forms of violence than the rest of the population.

Victims are holding back from reporting the crimes because of “fear and a clear lack of access to help”, Prien said.