If something was done to you, the German system gives victims a genuinely strong position — the right to be represented, to see the file, to join the prosecution, and to claim compensation inside the criminal case rather than in a separate civil action. Most people never learn any of that, because nobody tells them.
1. Reporting it, and the three-month rule
A criminal complaint (Strafanzeige) can be made at any police station, in writing, or often online, and reports serious offences to the prosecutor.
Separately, some offences are only prosecuted if the victim formally requests it — a Strafantrag — and that request must be made within three months of learning who the offender was (§ 77b StGB). Insult, trespass, damage to property and a range of assault cases fall into this group.
Serious offences are prosecuted regardless of that window, so nothing here is a reason to delay a report. But if the offence is one of the lesser ones, the three months matter. Work out your date here.
Making the request is not the same as being obliged to see it through, and it is far easier to file in time and decide later than to discover the window closed.
2. Evidence, before it disappears
The first days decide what a case can be built on. Without waiting for anyone's advice:
- photograph injuries and damage, repeatedly as they change;
- see a doctor and describe how it happened — the medical record becomes evidence, and there are clinics offering confidential documentation of injuries even if you have not decided whether to report;
- keep messages, emails, call logs, screenshots — do not delete the account or the thread, however much you want to;
- write down what happened while it is fresh, with times and places;
- note anyone who saw it, or who you told afterwards;
- keep receipts for anything the incident cost you.
Camera footage from shops, transport and buildings is routinely overwritten within days. If footage may exist, that is a reason to move quickly rather than to wait until you feel ready.
3. Joining the case as a co-plaintiff
In a criminal trial the prosecutor represents the state, not you. For certain offences — serious violence, sexual offences, stalking and others — a victim may join the proceedings as a co-plaintiff (Nebenkläger).
That changes your position from witness to participant. As a co-plaintiff you can:
- be represented by your own lawyer throughout;
- have that lawyer see the case file;
- be present at the hearing, including parts a mere witness would sit out;
- ask questions, object, and make submissions;
- challenge an outcome you consider wrong.
For some of the most serious offences the state pays for that representation regardless of means, and legal aid may be available in others. Do not assume it is financially out of reach without asking.
4. Getting compensation
Claims for pain and suffering (Schmerzensgeld) and for financial loss can be pursued inside the criminal proceedings through the Adhäsionsverfahren, rather than starting a separate civil case afterwards. It is quicker, and it uses evidence already before the court.
Where an offender cannot pay, state compensation for victims of violent crime may be available for lasting harm, through a separate social-law route with its own requirements and its own deadlines.
Both are worth asking about early — the criminal case is the natural moment to raise them, and it is harder to reopen the question later.
5. If you are still in danger
Where the risk is ongoing — a violent partner or ex, stalking, threats — protective orders under the Gewaltschutzgesetz can prohibit someone from approaching you, your home or your workplace, and can assign use of a shared home to you. These can be obtained urgently and do not depend on a criminal conviction.
If you are in immediate danger, call 110. Nothing in this guide should delay that.
6. If the prosecutor drops it
Cases are discontinued for many reasons, often "insufficient evidence" — which is a statement about the file as it stands, not a finding that you were not believed.
There is a route to challenge a discontinuation, and it runs on short deadlines from the notice you receive. A lawyer with file access can also see why it was dropped, which sometimes turns out to be a line of enquiry nobody followed.
7. Language, costs and what it involves
You are entitled to an interpreter in criminal proceedings — you should never be questioned or asked to sign a statement in a language you are not comfortable in. If the interview is not in a language you fully understand, say so and ask for one.
You can also decline to answer questions about your home address in open court in appropriate cases, and there are protections for vulnerable witnesses, including giving evidence outside the defendant's presence in some circumstances.
The process is slower than people expect — months, sometimes longer — and being asked to recount events repeatedly is genuinely hard. Having someone who deals with this regularly, in your own language, changes the experience considerably.