Martin Plum, chairman of the CDU’s parliamentary group in the Committee on Legal Affairs, told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” that the criminal protection of women must be strengthened. “The high number of women killed because of their gender calls for a clear and effective legislative response” he said.
Earlier SPD lawmakers had called for a “reasonable punishment for femicides and killings motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation” in a “Schweriner declaration”. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office’s situational report, 2024 saw 308 women and girls murdered, 191 of whom were killed by someone in their close environment.
Both coalition partners now plan to broaden the homicide provisions in the Criminal Code, but they differ in their approach. The SPD wants to make misogyny and the patriarchal possession mindset that underpin femicides the defining feature of homicide. The CDU, in contrast, wants a broader framework. During the previous legislative term, the party submitted a bill that would add a new killing criterion based on “exploitation of physical superiority”. This would make it easier to prosecute crimes against women, children, the elderly and disabled people. Martin Plum describes this approach as “systematically coherent, practically applicable and comprehensive” protecting not only women but “children, older people and people with disabilities more consistently from fatal violence”.
SPD lawmaker Carmen Wegge strongly disagrees. While coalition‑internal talks are taking place-since the issue is a priority for both parties-Wegge said the CDU’s draft would not serve as the basis for discussion. “From our perspective, a new homicide criterion should describe the underlying contempt behind the crime” she told the newspaper. “In the case of femicides, that might be a male’s sense of ownership over his wife”. The goal, she added, is to reach a joint consensus within the coalition later this year.
The subject had already been part of the coalition negotiations, but no specific changes to the Criminal Code were agreed upon. The Federal Ministry of Justice only replied to the “SZ” that it is currently “examining how to best implement the coalition agreement’s requirements” and it could not provide further details. The ministry referred to earlier remarks by Justice Minister Hubig, who warned against a “quick fix” and noted that femicides could already be classified as murder in the present framework.
The German Judges’ Association (DRB) expressed caution on Wednesday. “Hate crimes and gender‑specific violence must be met by the rule of law with all its weight” said DRB‑chief executive Sven Rebehn. “Yet harsher sentences alone are not sufficient”. The current criminal law already prescribes the toughest penalties for homicide. To provide better protection, he emphasized, preventive measures and effective prosecution that hold perpetrators accountable swiftly and with deterrent judgments are essential. Judges also warned that chronically understaffed public prosecutors can no longer afford to discontinue cases at an increasing rate.