Studies on femicide
Institute of Hanover: This is the main reason for murder of women
November 20, 2025 – 11:50Reading time: 1 minute.
A new study shows that murders of women often have similar backgrounds. Researchers analyzed nearly 300 cases from five states.
A study conducted by the Institute of Criminology and the Lower Saxony Criminological Research Institute in Hanover and the University of Tübingen shows that murders of women in Germany are most often committed during separation or out of jealousy. Scientists examined 292 cases in 2017 that were included in police crime statistics as attempted or total murders of women.
The researchers evaluated interrogation protocols, reports, indictments and decisions from five states: Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia. These areas represent one-third of all homicides of women recorded nationally during this period. Of the 292 cases examined, 197 were confirmed as attempted murders or completed murders.
Jörg Kinzig, director of the Institute of Criminology at the University of Tübingen and one of the study leaders, explained: “We chose 2017 to ensure that the criminal process is completely completed by the start of the evaluation in 2022.”
The results clearly show: 108 of the 133 murders of women (81 percent) identified were murders in heterosexual relationships. In most cases, an actual separation or infidelity on the part of the woman, or a separation or infidelity that the perpetrator is concerned about, is the trigger for the crime.
