Crimes Against Women and Economic Externalities in Germany: A Legal-Economic Analysis (2020–2022)

Crimes Against Women and Economic Externalities in Germany: A Legal-Economic Analysis (2020–2022) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Crimes Against Women and Economic Externalities in Germany: A Legal-Economic Analysis (2020–2022) Abhinav Singh This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6916851/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the economic cost of crimes against women in Germany between 2020 and 2022, applying a legal-economic framework to quantify the fiscal burden associated with gender-based violence. Using publicly available data from the German Federal Criminal Police Office, Eurostat, and methodological guidance from international institutions such as the European Institute for Gender Equality and the World Health Organisation, the analysis estimates direct and indirect economic losses across domains, including healthcare, justice, social services, and lost productivity. Adjusting for underreporting, the findings indicate that gender-based violence imposes an annual economic cost exceeding €1.5 billion in Germany alone. The study also evaluates the effectiveness of existing legal instruments—particularly § 177 of the German Criminal Code and the Protection Against Violence Act—in preventing and mitigating harm. While Germany has made legislative progress in line with international commitments, enforcement gaps and under-resourced protective infrastructure remain significant challenges. The research underscores the necessity of viewing violence against women not only as a human rights issue but also as a public policy concern with tangible macroeconomic consequences. By integrating legal analysis with economic cost modelling, the paper contributes a multidisciplinary perspective to debates on justice system reform and social investment. Gender-based violence Economic cost German criminal law Legal policy Externalities and public expenditure Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6916851","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":472707162,"identity":"21278aa3-dcca-47dd-934d-8da2a07ff59e","order_by":0,"name":"Abhinav Singh","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABFklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCR6GAyCaDYwKGBj4QbyEAqK1GDAwSDaAtBjg1wIDEC0GYBPwaOGf3XvwcEHNYXs+6fZrDxgM7BI3n1+d+OGBAYM8v9gB7JbcOZdweMaxw4ltMmfKDRgMkhO33Xi7WQLoMMOZsxOwW3Mjx+AwD1taAptETpoEgwFz7rYbZzeAtCQY3MauRR6s5V+aPVRLfe7mGWc3/8CnxQCkhbfNhrFNIv0YUMvh3A38vdvw2mJ45wxQS59NYptEDhtQ5fH6GTd4t1kkGEjg9Ivc7R7jzzzfJOzlZ6Q/k/hQUW3M3392880fFTby/NI4vI8APEDHgGgJCElIOQiwP4DQ/AeIUT0KRsEoGAUjCAAA6zpfJ0+p/bgAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abhinav","middleName":"","lastName":"Singh","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-17 18:23:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6916851/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6916851/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":85151385,"identity":"86b8e557-ce89-4372-b3c0-0dd5535e4575","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-22 15:53:45","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":385254,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6916851/v1_covered_71e32a23-b42c-497e-94e8-86e0f5c7562a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Crimes Against Women and Economic Externalities in Germany: A Legal-Economic Analysis (2020–2022)","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Gender-based violence, Economic cost, German criminal law, Legal policy, Externalities and public expenditure","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6916851/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6916851/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigates the economic cost of crimes against women in Germany between 2020 and 2022, applying a legal-economic framework to quantify the fiscal burden associated with gender-based violence. Using publicly available data from the German Federal Criminal Police Office, Eurostat, and methodological guidance from international institutions such as the European Institute for Gender Equality and the World Health Organisation, the analysis estimates direct and indirect economic losses across domains, including healthcare, justice, social services, and lost productivity. Adjusting for underreporting, the findings indicate that gender-based violence imposes an annual economic cost exceeding \u0026euro;1.5\u0026nbsp;billion in Germany alone.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study also evaluates the effectiveness of existing legal instruments\u0026mdash;particularly \u0026sect;\u0026nbsp;177 of the German Criminal Code and the Protection Against Violence Act\u0026mdash;in preventing and mitigating harm. While Germany has made legislative progress in line with international commitments, enforcement gaps and under-resourced protective infrastructure remain significant challenges. The research underscores the necessity of viewing violence against women not only as a human rights issue but also as a public policy concern with tangible macroeconomic consequences. By integrating legal analysis with economic cost modelling, the paper contributes a multidisciplinary perspective to debates on justice system reform and social investment.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Crimes Against Women and Economic Externalities in Germany: A Legal-Economic Analysis (2020–2022)","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-06-18 08:32:45","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6916851/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"9fb7d124-3ed9-4d15-b901-91609b2332b0","owner":[],"postedDate":"June 18th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-06-22T15:53:20+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-06-18 08:32:45","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6916851","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6916851","identity":"rs-6916851","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}