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Previous research has repeatedly shown that gender-based violence affects a considerable proportion of women in any given population. Apart from providing current estimates of the prevalence of sexual violence against women in Germany, we identified specific risk markers applying an advanced statistical method. We analyzed data from a survey of N = 4450 women representative of the German population, conducted by the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony in 2011. Lifetime prevalence for experiencing sexual violence was 5.4% for women aged 21–40 years (five-year prevalence: 2.5%). Non-parametric conditional inference tree (C-Tree) analyses revealed that physical and sexual abuse during childhood as well as being divorced, separated, or widowed was the most informative constellation of risk markers, increasing the five-year prevalence rate of experienced sexual violence victimizations up to 17.0%. Furthermore, knowing about the official penalization of marital rape was related to a lower victimization risk for women without a history of parental violence. Possible explanations for these findings as well as implications for future research are critically discussed.

The present study, as part of a large-scale victim survey, examines the prevalence and nature of stalking in a representative German quota sample (N = 5779). Applying a broad definition of stalking, the lifetime prevalence added up to 15 percent, depending on respondents' age, gender, and immigrant background, as well as household size and relationship status. Conditional inference trees revealed that gender, relationship status, and household size were key factors in identifying victims of stalking. Offenders mostly committed stalking against the opposite gender. This pertains especially to female (vs. male) victims. In most cases the offender and victim knew each other prior to the stalking. The results are compared with national and international findings. Implications and potential limitations are discussed.

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Child maltreatment can severely impair children's emotional and physical well-being as well as their individual development across the life span. In 2011, the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (Germany), conducted a nationally representative victim survey on diverse forms of victimizations (N = 11,428). Among other things, experienced and exerted parental violence as well as participants' knowledge regarding the abolition of the parental right of corporal punishment were assessed. Apart from providing current estimates of the prevalence of experienced and exerted parental violence in Germany, we identified specific risk markers for the intergenerational transmission of parental violence. In summary, 52.6% of the participants reported experiences of at least one incident of at least minor parental violence until the age of 16 years, and 22.9% had exerted at least once at least one act of minor violence against their own children. Nonparametric conditional inference tree analyses revealed experienced parental violence as the most important risk marker for exerting parental violence. Furthermore, the number of children currently cared for, parental age, and origin as well as knowledge about the current legal situation regarding corporal punishment were significantly associated with exerting parental violence. For individuals without a history of parental violence, lack of experienced parental warmth and an age between 33 and 40 years increased the risk of exerting parental violence. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for designing effective prevention and intervention strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record