The police intervened in 943 cases of domestic violence last year, compared to 849 in 2019. The number of cases has been rising every year since 2017. The public prosecutor evicted the offender from their home in 278 cases, up from 265 the year before. This expulsion is valid for 14 days but can be extended for up to three months.

“No one should suffer from domestic violence, verbal, sexual and physical attacks. We must all continue and focus our efforts on the fight against domestic violence,” said minister for equality between women and men Taina Bofferding (LSAP) while presenting the 2020 numbers on Thursday.

Police identified 1,697 victims in the domestic violence attacks, with a growing number of them men (39.72% in 2020 compared to 36.42% the year before). Just over 350 victims were minors.

However, the 2019 edition of the report presented on 10 June showed that in serious cases of assault or injury, more than 85% of victims are women. The 2020 data is not yet public.

“The report for 2020 shows us that people who are victims of domestic violence are increasingly daring to seek help,” Bofferding said. “This shows that our prevention activities and media coverage are bearing fruit, and in particular have made it possible to demystify and debunk the subject.”

The minister said efforts must continue to support victims and allow them to escape toxic and dangerous environments, but also to help perpetrators break cycles of violence.

Bofferding in January, for example, signed a cooperation agreement with not-for-profit Inter-Actions to offer courses on anger management and violence prevention to offenders but also at-risk households.

Despite the increase in domestic violence cases last year, the ministry said that the “surge” in incidents expected during lockdown in particular, and the pandemic more generally, last year hadn’t materialised.

The ministry had put in place a bi-weekly monitoring system to keep a closer eye on the development of case numbers at the start of the pandemic as well as a new helpline for victims.

The equality between women and men ministry in March this year also launched a new observatory, which collects data on domestic violence and other gender equality topics, such as jobs, education, income and health.

For domestic violence, the observatory will include not only police or court records but also information gathered by women’s shelters or other associations where victims seek help without being officially reported.