The number of victims of domestic violence recorded by the authorities at the national level is increasing by 10% between 2022 and 2023, according to data published this Wednesday. In the Grand Est, Marne, Ardennes and Aube are the departments where there are the most victims recorded in proportion to the population.
Company
From daily life to major issues, discover the subjects that make up local society, such as justice, education, health and family.
France Télévisions uses your email address to send you the “Society” newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link at the bottom of this newsletter. Our privacy policy
In 2023, 271,000 victims of domestic violence, the vast majority women, made themselves known to the authorities, according to statistics published on November 6, 2024 by the Ministerial Statistical Service for Internal Security (SSMSI), a service which depends on the ministry of the Interior. This represents an increase of 10% in one year.
In the Grand Est, the departments which record the greatest number of victims remain, as in 2022, Marne, Ardennes and Aube. While the average number of women victims of domestic violence is 10.6 women per 1,000 inhabitants (aged 15 to 64) at the national level, it reaches 13 in the Marne, 12.6 in the Ardennes and 12.2 in Dawn. In our region, it is in Bas-Rhin that it is lowest with 8.9 female victims per 1,000.
Men are also victims of domestic violence but are much less numerous, according to these official statistics based on seizures by the police and the gendarmerie. Thus, at the national level, in 2023 there were 1.2 per 1,000 inhabitants (aged 15 to 64). The map of detailed results by department can also be consulted.
The upward trend in the number of recorded victims does not necessarily mean that the number of incidents increases in the same proportion. As the SSMSI recalls in its study, “it also reflects that of the propensity to file a complaint, which depends both on the nature of the offense, the context in which it was committed, and the evolution of behavior in society which can favor the release of the voice of the victims but also the reception conditions reserved for victims who file a complaint and the protection or sanction systems put in place.”
“This increase in the number of recorded victims shows that more and more women continue to take the step of filing a complaint and this is excellent news”estimates the president of the Women's Foundation Anne-Cécile Mailfert to AFP. “Now the budgets must follow, we need additional resources to support, investigate, hear, judge and above all also support the victims who, from the moment they file a complaint, put themselves in danger”she adds, referring to the risks of reprisals from the spouse or ex-spouse.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, two thirds of domestic violence (64%) consist of physical violence. 32% of victims have suffered verbal or psychological violence, including moral harassment (17%), threats (12%), invasions of privacy (1%) or insults and defamation (1%). 4% were victims of sexual violence. For 2% of victims of moral harassment, the facts led to suicide or a suicide attempt, specifies the SSMSI.
At the national level, as in 2022, the vast majority of those accused of domestic violence elucidated in 2023 are men (86%), of French nationality (83%).
These data are not representative of the phenomenon of domestic violence as a whole, the victims recorded by the security services representing only a portion of the people who have suffered this type of violence each year, “these facts may never be reported or may be reported later”notes the SSMSI.
