Expedited Deployment of Electronic Ankle Monitors Demanded - Increased velocity needed for rollout of electronic leg shackles.
Quickening the Implementation of Electronic Ankle Monitors for Femicide Prevention
In a call to action, the women's rights organization Terre de Femmes is urging the Lower Saxony state government to accelerate the implementation of electronic ankle monitors (EAMs) for violent offenders. Similar measures have already been enacted in states like Hesse and Saxony, according to Sina Tonk, who oversees domestic violence issues at Terre de Femmes. The nationwide deployment of EAMs is essential, she asserts.
"Comprehensive reviews of Protection Against Violence Act orders, such as restraining orders, should also be included," Tonk noted. A bill concerning Lower Saxony is currently in progress.
Lower Saxony's Minister of the Interior, Daniela Behrens (SPD), supports the introduction of a new form of surveillance based on the Spanish model. The adoption of this technology, she believes, will allow offenders' movements to be tracked, ensuring they maintain their distance from endangered individuals.
Since the introduction of EAMs in Spain to monitor violent men, the number of femicides has reportedly decreased significantly. Femicides are violent acts claiming a woman's life due to her gender, with killing by a partner or ex-partner being the most prevalent form. Even the Lower Saxony CDU is advocating for an expedited resolution on this issue.
A series of femicides in Lower Saxony has sparked outrage in recent weeks. In Nienburg, a woman was stabbed to death on a parking lot, with her ex-partner arrested as a suspect. In Goslar, a man is accused of setting his wife on fire, and she later fell out of a window. A woman was allegedly intentionally run over and killed by her husband in Varel, where the man now faces a murder charge. The couple had been living apart, and a court had previously barred the man from approaching the victim.
While electronic ankle monitors are sometimes used in Germany as part of protection orders aimed at reducing the risk of violence against women, including femicide, empirical studies specifically evaluating their impact on femicide prevention in German states like Lower Saxony, Hesse, or Saxony are limited. Existing evaluations tend to focus on broader outcomes like recidivism rates or breaches of restraining orders rather than the direct prevention of fatal violence. As such, while electronic ankle monitors are seen as a protective tool for women at risk, their specific effectiveness in preventing femicides in these regions remains unquantified based on current sources.
- The women's rights organization Terre de Femmes advocates for the inclusion of comprehensive reviews of Protection Against Violence Act orders, such as restraining orders, within the community policy when implementing electronic ankle monitors (EAMs) for violent offenders.
- In line with theSpanish model, the Lower Saxony Minister of the Interior, Daniela Behrens, believes that incorporating EAMs into the state's health-and-wellness and mental-health policies is crucial to track the movements of offenders and ensure their distance from endangered individuals.
- As the science surrounding the effectiveness of EAMs in preventing femicides in regions like Lower Saxony, Hesse, or Saxony is still evolving, it is important to conduct further research and evaluations focusing on sexual-health and women's health aspects to better understand their role in reducing femicides and ensuring the safety of vulnerable women.
