Collecting evidence promptly is crucial for those experiencing violence. Testimonial evidence becomes vital in domestic violence cases, where there may be no eyewitnesses.
It is important to see a doctor, no matter what form of violence you have experienced. Even mental symptoms might be considered as evidence. Unfortunately, many victims of violence later regret not seeing a doctor to get medical documentation. A report to the police is not required.
If you have physical injuries or traces of sexual violence, it is a good idea to submit medical documentation as evidence in an investigation or court case to the youth welfare office or the immigration authorities. You can always leave the medical documentation unused but not obtain one later. The doctor has a duty of confidentiality.
In principle, you decide yourself whether to use the medical documentation. However, the court can issue an order requiring your doctor to hand over the documentation.
Without seeing the doctor, the link between injuries, symptoms and perceived violence can be very difficult to verify. Concussions, internal injuries after sexual violence and many other injuries can be invisible on the surface. Also, traces of sexual abuse can often only be verified by a doctor.
To obtain such medical documentation, you can contact your GP practice or a central emergency department in a hospital, for example. In many places, however, there are also outpatient clinics for the protection against violence or forensic medicine institutes where this documentation is carried out by specialised medical staff.
It is a good idea to save all conversations you have had with the person using violence (e-mails, SMS, WhatsApp chats, Facebook Messenger messages, TikTok, comments on all social media, etc.). You should also keep, if it can be done safely, e.g. WhatsApp conversations with friends where you have told about violent incidents.
It may be that you do not notice the violence in them because it has been normalized, but a professional might be able to pick up significant evidence of intimate partner violence. It is a good idea to save this evidence, for example, on your own memory stick or somewhere the abuser does not have access to.
You should tell as many people as possible about the violence you have experienced and about your own feelings. The sooner you tell and talk about it, the better. The persons told about the matter may be called as witnesses. The trial may also assess the delay between what happened and the narration.
Once the matter has been reported to various authorities, their records and statements are often used as evidence. Authorities and therapists can be asked for an opinion on how experts perceive the victim's symptoms related to the violence experienced. The coherence of the reports is also essential.
It can also be helpful to talk to neighbours, as they often overhear things and could testify as witnesses
With smartphones, gathering evidence is straightforward. Pictures of the traces of violence on yourself and your home, objects, and clothes are worth taking. Phone conversations and events can be recorded and videotaped.
You should also take pictures of your home and property to verify that they have been damaged or stolen. For example, if you go to a shelter, the occupant may damage the apartment or movable property.
It is a good idea to save this evidence, for example, on your own memory stick or somewhere the abuser does not have access to.
Unfortunately, pets often experience violence, and the same principle applies to the pet's injuries and use for a doctor as to the person themselves. The veterinarian’s statement supports the consistency of the report on the perpetrator’s violent behaviour. If the perpetrator uses violence against pets, the verification of injuries by a veterinarian can act as evidence of violence.
Please note that although the vet is bound to secrecy, if he suspects a criminal offence under Section 17 of the German Animal Welfare Act (TierSchG), he could report the matter to the police, the public prosecutor's office, the court or the veterinary office.Talk to him about your safety.
A diary can also be used as evidence. You can write down in a diary about the violence you have experienced. A person tends to forget things, and memories of details can change over time, but it is worth recording things, your thoughts, and feelings about your experiences when they happened.
When filing a crime report, you will be asked for the exact date, time, and place of the event, so you should write them down, even on the calendar, if the diary is not always with you. You can also use a phone as a diary and record your own speech on the phone if writing does not seem natural.
If there are children in the family, they suffer severely from violence, and this is often reflected in their behaviour. For example, they may have difficulty concentrating at school or be restless, aggressive, or depressed, maybe retreating into their games. Therefore, it is also good to tell those involved in their care and upbringing about the violence so that professionals can combine the child's symptoms with experienced or witnessed violence.
Teachers, early childhood educators and instructors of children’s hobbies also communicate with parents so they can be called witnesses. Child protection is an important place to connect with. Within child protection, they also know how to take a stand on safe parenting and thus on profiling.
Sometimes, legal proceedings deal with ownership of movables and other property. Receipts can prove your ownership of important materials or items. The use of a bank account can be used to prove financial violence or persecution. It is a good idea to save this evidence, for example, on your own memory stick or somewhere the abuser does not have access to.
Log information about your calls, and location can provide valuable information when proving persecution. Save your own log information. It is a good idea to save this evidence, for example, on your own memory stick or somewhere the abuser does not have access to it.
Whether you want to report a criminal offence is your decision. A criminal offence can be reported electronically or at a police station. If you call the police on 110 in the event of danger, the police will then investigate on their own initiative without you having to report the offence.
Show the police the evidence you have collected and name possible witnesses. You can also seek advice from a counselling centre first and find a lawyer if necessary.