This 2012 survey by the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) is the first of its kind on violence against women across the 28 Member States of the European Union. It is based on interviews with 42,000 women across the EU, who were asked about their experiences of physical, sexual and psychological violence, including incidents of intimate partner violence (“domestic violence”).
FRA survey main findings report
The Gender Equality Index is a tool to measure the progress of gender equality in the EU, developed by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). It gives more visibility to areas that need improvement and ultimately supports policy makers to design more effective gender equality measures.
In order to understand the nature and prevalence of gender-based violence, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) regularly conducts studies.
Improving police and justice data on intimate partner violence against women in the European Union
Further information on EIGE data collection practices
The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) is the most comprehensive and detailed international treaty against gender-based violence. It is of utmost importance for the advancement of women’s human rights in Europe that all European countries sign, ratify and effectively implement the Convention.
Details on which European countries have taken steps to increase their female population's safety
The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) is the most comprehensive and detailed international treaty against gender-based violence. The GREVIO Committee is tasked with monitoring the Convention's implementation by signatories
The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the UN.
Countries that have signed the treaty and with which reservations
The WAVE Country Report 2023 provides an overview of statistics related to women’s specialist services in 46 European countries, namely national women’s helplines, women’s shelters, women’s centres, specialist services for survivors of sexualised violence, and primary prevention services.
In this database, the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) provides global data on the proportion of women who have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current or former intimate partner within the last 12 months and the proportion of women who have experienced sexual violence by persons other than intimate partners, since the age of 15.
UNSD Minimum Set of Gender Indicators
The Global status report on violence prevention 2014, which reflects data from 133 countries, is the first report of its kind to assess national efforts to address interpersonal violence, namely child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner and sexual violence, and elder abuse.
Research & Development Manager