Reports of domestic violence cases, mostly against women, rose considerably in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic, the victim support group Weisser Ring reported.
Volunteers from the non-profit organization handled 17,000 cases in 2020, 20% of which related to domestic violence. This was a 10% increase from the year before and 20% more than 2018.
Weisser Ring Federal Chairman Joerg Ziercke confirmed that “we will probably reach the 2020 level again this year” for domestic violence in Germany. Of these reports in 2020, “twenty-six per cent are sexual offences,” he added.
Police statistics confirm these figures too, with a 15% increase to 150,000 domestic violence crimes recorded nationally in 2020.
Weisser Ring, which means White Ring in English, runs a helpline that provides counseling for victims of all crimes throughout the central European country.
The weeks after the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns saw the largest amount of calls and online requests for help, said Ziercke.
Numbers of calls grew from 4,000 in 2019 to 22,000 in 2020, with a similar number being expected for 2021. Weisser Ring carried out 3,350 online consultations in 2020, double that of 2019.
About 80% of the domestic violence victims were women, 5% more than in 2020, Ziercke added, saying that being stuck at home had increased the likelihood of domestic violence.
Here’s a look at the latest coronavirus-related news in other parts of the world
Asia
China on Saturday reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases in four months, the majority of them in the northwestern city of Xi’an.
With the Far Eastern superpower set to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing this coming February, Chinese authorities imposed a strict lockdown on 13 million people in Xi’an last Thursday.
The 140 new infections, 87 which were locally transmitted, were reported on Christmas Eve. Most of these were in Xi’an, although cases have been kept to a minimum thanks to a strict zero-Covid strategy that quickly zones in on outbreaks.
Europe
Portugal’s General Directorate of Health announced Saturday that the omicron variant has become dominant in the country. Over 12,000 new coronavirus cases were recorded on Friday.
The Iberian nation has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, but has recently implemented new restrictions, such as mandatory indoor mask wearing.
Thousands of people in England took time off from Christmas Day celebrations to get booster shots at locations all over the country.
Pharmacies joined public vaccination centers in offering the “jingle jabs” to try to slow down the rapid spread of the omicron variant throughout the UK.
German police shut down a concert in the northern city of Hamburg that had 800 attendees that were not keeping social distancing rules, authorities said.
There were isolated incidents during the police operation including damage to the venue after they ordered event organizers to send people home.
With the omicron variant now having spread across all German states, new restrictions are expected to be announced after the festive season.
Germany’sRobert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 22,214 new coronavirus cases early on Christmas Day, bringing total cases throughout the pandemic up to nearly 7 million. The RKI also recorded 157 new deaths.
Americas
US flights constituted the bulk of the more than 4,500 flights cancelled globally this Christmas weekend. United and Delta Airlines both cited a staff crunch due to rising COVID-19 infections.
Africa
Kenya will offer COVID-19 booster shots to residents who got fully vaccinated six months earlier, the health ministry said a day after it recorded its highest ever case numbers.
The omicron variant on Friday accounted for about a third of theEast African country’s coronavirus cases in a country which has 14% of its adults inoculated.
jc/wd (dpa, AFP, Reuters, AP)
Coronavirus digest: Domestic violence surges in Germany amid pandemic
Source: Pinoy Pop News
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