What the BMBFSFJ needs assessment 2026 shows
The Needs Assessment for the Prevention of Gender-Based and Domestic Violence, published by the German Federal Ministry in January 2026, is the first nationwide survey of its kind. It found that half of the municipalities surveyed have some coordinating office or role, often housed with equality officers or organized as round tables and cooperation projects. Only 27.3%, however, pursue an overarching strategy against gender-based and domestic violence. The short report includes 47 concrete recommendations for practice.
For municipalities still building that strategy, a reliable data foundation is the first step — and that’s exactly where the real challenge begins: how do you assess need without putting the data of already-vulnerable people at risk?
What “GDPR-compliant” actually means for a needs analysis
Data about domestic and gender-based violence regularly falls under special categories of personal data per Art. 9 GDPR. For a municipal needs analysis, that means in practice:
- Data minimization: only aggregated figures necessary for planning are evaluated — no individual case data at the municipal level.
- Anonymization/pseudonymization: it must be technically impossible to trace figures back to individual people affected.
- Purpose limitation: data collected for operational case work in a shelter cannot simply be repurposed for municipal planning.
- Hosting and data processing agreements: server location and data-processing agreements need to meet the requirements public authorities are held to.
How a digital needs analysis concretely helps municipalities
SafeNet’s needs analysis feature is built specifically for this municipal use case: a GDPR-compliant evaluation that gives municipalities a solid basis for capacity planning and funding applications, without touching individual case data.
First steps for municipalities
Municipalities without an overarching strategy yet — the majority, according to the BMBFSFJ assessment — benefit most from first mapping the status quo: which providers are active, where do coordinating offices already exist, and where are the data gaps? Only then does introducing software make sense.
Conclusion
The federal ministry’s current needs assessment provides, for the first time, a nationwide basis — implementation remains the task of each individual municipality. Learn more about SafeNet’s needs analysis feature or get in touch, no obligation.
Source: BMBFSFJ, Needs Assessment for the Prevention of Gender-Based and Domestic Violence, short report, published 22 Jan 2026.
