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EU Study Finds One in Three Women Face Violence as German States Press 2026 Victim-Protection Reforms

EU rights bodies say chronic underreporting exposes systemic failures that demand urgent reform.

Overview

  • FRA and EIGE released EU-wide findings from more than 114,000 interviews showing 30.7% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence since age 15.
  • Police reporting remains rare for partner abuse, with only 6.1% of incidents reported versus 11.3% for assaults by non-partners, which agencies link to shame, fear and low trust.
  • Digital abuse features prominently, with 8.5% of women reporting online stalking, 7% of working women facing online sexual harassment and 10% having their location tracked by a partner.
  • Germany’s 2024 crime data cited by state officials recorded 265,942 domestic-violence cases, 53,451 sexual offenses and 308 women killed.
  • Hamburg’s Anna Gallina and NRW’s Benjamin Limbach urged making 2026 the year of victim protection, proposing expanded electronic monitoring, a de-escalation detention tool, criminalizing sexual deepfakes, tougher penalties for drug-facilitated assaults and closing tracker and rape-video loopholes.