24.hu
- 01. 13. 11:09
In 2020, 65% more domestic violence crimes were registered in Hungary than in 2019: 650 cases, as opposed to 392 a year before. The number of registered sexual abuse cases has also grown by 36%, from 240 in 2019 to 327 in 2020. 56 cases of sexual coercion were registered in 2019, 95 in 2020; this is a 70% increase. The number of homicides has also soared: in 2019 141, in 2020 203 murders happened in the country. Unfortunately, the data does not show how many of these were committed by a family member or a (former) previous partner of the victim. 44
This data has been collected by independent Member of Parliament Bernadett Szél from the website of the Ministry of Interior because she could not obtain them from the police. She filed a data request on November 27th, but the police responded that it would take them 90 days to compile the data because it interferes with the performance of their public duties. They did have the time, however, to create a map which shows the positive effects on crime of the restrictions introduced in November: there have been fewer cases of vandalism, disorderly conduct, car theft, robberies and crimes committed in public spaces. Apparently, Szél suggests, the police did not find it important to show the effects of the lockdown on what happens in the homes: no data on domestic violence, sexual abuse and homicide are indicated on the map.
The MP claims that the police should not only brag with the data showing improvement but also make available the data on domestic violence, which show negative tendencies. “And the government, instead of rejecting the Istanbul Convention at the time of the pandemic, should take efficient measures to help people abused in their homes,” she adds in her press release.
(translated by Rita Béres-Deák)
