Pöördumine

EU Gender-based Violence Survey

KEY RESULTS

Manuscript completed in September 2024.

When citing this report, please use the following wording: FRA, EIGE, Eurostat (2024), EU gender-based violence survey – Key results. Experiences of women in the EU-27, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

© European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Eurostat and European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), 2024.

Reproduction is authorised provided that the source is acknowledged.

For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights/Eurostat/European Institute for Gender Equality copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders.

Neither the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights/Eurostat/European Institute for Gender Equality nor any person acting on behalf of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights/Eurostat/European Institute for Gender Equality is responsible for the use that might be made of the following information.

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2024

FRA Print ISBN 978-92-9489-500-4 doi:10.2811/6270086 TK-01-24-002-EN-C

FRA PDF ISBN 978-92-9489-499-1 doi:10.2811/4526264 TK-01-24-002-EN-N

Eurostat ISBN 978-92-68-22041-2 doi:10.2785/3538658 KS-01-24-013-EN-N

EIGE ISBN 978-92-9486-262-4 doi:10.2839/3648756 MH-01-24-004-EN-N

For Eurostat: This document should not be considered as representative of the European Commission’s official position.

EU Gender-based Violence Survey

KEY RESULTS Experiences of women in the

27 EU Member States

2024

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Acknowledgements

Eurostat, FRA and EIGE would like to sincerely thank the women who answered the survey questions. In doing so, these women have ensured that their experiences of violence have been heard, are documented and will be reported in the survey findings. Thanks are also extended to the interviewers and all other people involved in the data collection and overall implementation of the survey for their dedication and attention to detail. As a result of their efforts, the experiences and views of survey respondents were recorded accurately and with full respect for women’s rights as survey participants.

In this respect it is important to note that participation in the survey was voluntary for the respondents. They could stop the interview at any time or choose not to answer certain questions.

Finally, Eurostat, FRA and EIGE would also like to thank the many stakeholders – in particular, the civil-society organisations – involved in the implementation of the survey overall. Beyond their contribution to the survey, they undertake essential work to provide support and advice to women at their time of need.

About this report

This report presents, for the first time, selected key results of the EU gender-based violence survey based on data from all 27 Member States. Across the EU-27, 114 023 women were interviewed about their experiences. The report focuses on the prevalence of various forms of violence against women in the EU. The EU gender-based violence survey also collected specific data about women’s experiences of violence, including on the consequences of violence and contacts with different services that provide assistance to victims, as survivors of violence. Data on both the prevalence of violence and the consequences of violence will be analysed in detail in the survey report that Eurostat, FRA and EIGE will publish in 2025.

In this report, the results are presented in four chapters, starting with the overall prevalence of physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by any perpetrator. This is followed by two chapters that focus on violence perpetrated by women’s intimate partners and by other people (non-partners). The fourth chapter examines women’s experiences of sexual harassment at work. Finally, the report includes an annex that summarises the survey data collection methodology.

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 5

INTERPRETING THE RESULTS – POINTS TO CONSIDER 7

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 7

ESTIMATING THE PREVALENCE OF VIOLENCE 7

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COUNTRIES 7

AGGREGATE DATA ON VIOLENCE AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 8

RELIABILITY OF THE RESULTS 11

1 WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE OF VIOLENCE BY ANY PERPETRATOR 13

KEY FINDINGS: WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE OF VIOLENCE BY ANY PERPETRATOR 14

EXTENT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BY ANY PERPETRATOR 14

2 VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER 19

KEY FINDINGS: VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER 20

EXTENT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER 20

VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY DOMESTIC PERPETRATORS 24

WOMEN EXPERIENCING STALKING BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER 24

3 VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY PEOPLE OTHER THAN AN INTIMATE PARTNER 27

KEY FINDINGS: VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY PEOPLE OTHER THAN AN INTIMATE PARTNER 28

EXTENT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BY PEOPLE OTHER THAN AN INTIMATE PARTNER 28

WOMEN EXPERIENCING STALKING BY A PERSON OTHER THAN AN INTIMATE PARTNER 33

4 SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK 35

KEY FINDINGS: SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK 36

EXTENT OF WOMEN EXPERIENCING SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK 36

PERPETRATORS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK 40

ANNEX: METHODOLOGY 41

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COUNTRY CODES

BE Belgium BG Bulgaria CZ Czechia DK Denmark DE Germany EE Estonia IE Ireland EL Greece ES Spain FR France HR Croatia IT Italy CY Cyprus LV Latvia LT Lithuania LU Luxembourg HU Hungary MT Malta NL Netherlands AT Austria PL Poland PT Portugal RO Romania SI Slovenia SK Slovakia FI Finland SE Sweden

ABBREVIATIONS

EIGE European Institute for Gender Equality EU-GBV EU-wide gender-based violence (survey) FRA European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights SDG sustainable development goal WHO World Health Organization

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INTRODUCTION

In the past decade, the EU and its Member States have taken a number of steps in an effort to eradicate violence against women. These have included measures to prevent violence and to enhance the protection of and support for victims of violence. It is also 10 years since the results of the first EU-wide survey on violence against women were published (1). The results of this earlier survey left no doubt about the urgent need to counter violence against women.

Among the most important achievements in recent years is that 22 EU Member States (2) have ratified the Istanbul Convention  – the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – and in June 2023 the EU ratified the convention. The Istanbul Convention defines violence against women as ‘a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women and shall mean all acts of gender- based violence that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm to women’. It also provides a definition of gender-based violence against women: ‘violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately’ (3). The survey results in this report refer to experiences of violence against women, which include, as defined in the Istanbul Convention, acts of gender-based violence.

In addition to ratifying the Istanbul Convention, the EU has taken several measures to counter violence against women. In May 2024, it adopted Directive (EU) 2024/1385 (4) on combating violence against women and domestic violence, to prevent and combat the phenomenon across the EU. The directive criminalises certain forms of violence against women, both online and offline – specifically female genital mutilation and forced marriage, non-consensual sharing of intimate or manipulated material, cyberstalking, cyber harassment and cyber incitement to violence or hatred by reference to gender. This directive also includes measures to enhance the rights of victims to protection and support, complementing provisions contained in the victims’ rights directive (Directive 2012/29/EU) (5). The EU has previously taken other legislative measures, including the adoption of the gender equality directive (Directive 2006/54/EC) (6), which prohibits sexual harassment with respect to employment.

Alongside the progress made through these legislative measures being put in place, in 2022 an EU-wide telephone number (116016) was established to connect Member States’ nationwide helplines. Thus, victims of violence against women can use the same number, irrespective of the country they are in, to access advice and support.

Furthermore, ending gender-based violence was included among the European Commission’s priorities in its gender equality strategy for 2020–2025. This priority was renewed in September 2024 by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, in her mission letter for the Commissioner-designate for Equality. In it, she included the task of renewing the Commission’s commitment to gender equality in the form of a new, post-2025, gender equality strategy.

The new strategy will update the actions taken to combat gender-based violence, demonstrating the continued focus on the issue. The mission letter also assigned the Commissioner-designate the task of ensuring the full implementation of the Istanbul Convention. The European Commission has summarised the EU’s action taken to date to end gender-based violence on a dedicated web page (7).

There have been repeated calls for comprehensive, regular and comparable data collection on the prevalence of gender-based violence in several policy documents over the years at the EU and Member State levels, as well as in Directive (EU) 2024/1385 on combating violence against women and domestic violence. In response to these gaps in the data, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) undertook the first EU-wide survey on violence against women in 2012, and the results were published in 2014 (8).

Given the continued demand for data, and the policy requirements, Eurostat started to develop the EU-wide gender-based violence (EU-GBV) survey in 2016. This included a data collection instrument and methodology that national statistical authorities would be able to apply (9).

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Eurostat coordinated the data collection in 18 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland), and the national statistical authorities of these countries carried out the survey. Italy agreed to share the data from its national survey to provide comparable data for the main indicators. For the remaining eight Member States (Czechia, Germany, Ireland, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Hungary, Romania and Sweden), FRA and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) took responsibility for the data collection. FRA and EIGE contracted Ipsos NV – a survey research company – to carry out the survey fieldwork, which it conducted following the Eurostat methodological manual.

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INTERPRETING THE RESULTS – POINTS TO CONSIDER

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

While violence affects people of all genders, not all people experience violence to the same extent. As a complex phenomenon, the impact of violence can differ based on the gender of both the victim and the perpetrator, their relationship and the type of violence involved. People’s experiences may also differ depending on other personal characteristics besides gender – such as age, disability, sexual orientation and ethnicity – and the intersection of these characteristics.

The results presented in this report concern the experiences of women in the 27 Member States based on 114 023 interviews (10). Compared with men, women are more likely to experience violence by perpetrators in the domestic sphere, with many incidents taking place at home (11). Because of these close ties between the victim and the perpetrator, it can be difficult for victims to disclose their experiences and seek assistance, including to report incidents to the police (12).

For these reasons, some official statistics, including police-recorded crime and generic crime victimisation surveys, capture the experiences of women to a limited extent. This is particularly the case when those producing the statistics do not specifically set out to ensure that experiences of intimate partner and domestic violence are captured in detail, or when they do not use specific questions or appropriate measures to make women feel that they can safely disclose their experiences.

Surveys such as the EU gender-based violence survey provide a detailed and comprehensive picture of the range of offences and the consequences that women experience. At the same time, administrative statistics – such as those on police-recorded offences, prosecutions and court decisions – are also important to collect, because they help monitor the functioning of the criminal justice system and its responsiveness to the needs of victims. Efforts are therefore being made to enhance the quality and use of these administrative statistics (13). Thus, both population- based surveys on violence against women and administrative statistics should be considered when examining the extent and nature of violence against women.

ESTIMATING THE PREVALENCE OF VIOLENCE

As with all results based on data collected from a sample of the population, the results reported here should be seen as estimates. The survey’s data collection followed Eurostat guidance to ensure high quality and reliability of the results. Despite the measures put in place to ensure that women can share their experiences safely and that their data are treated anonymously, given the nature of the survey questions it is likely that some women decided not to mention incidents of violence that they had experienced. It should be assumed, therefore, that more women have experienced violence than what the survey estimates suggest. However, surveys do record proportionally many more women having experienced violence than those who formally report their experiences to the police or other service providers.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COUNTRIES

The results presented in this report point to differences in the prevalence of violence between Member States. Research concerning the prevalence of violence against women has also found notable differences in the prevalence of violence between countries in other regions of the

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world (14). FRA’s 2012 survey on violence against women also showed variation in the extent to which women in different Member States experienced violence.

Contributing factors to the differences between countries can include the extent to which people perceive certain acts as ‘wrong’ and harmful, and people’s awareness and recognition (including in legislation) of different types of violence as criminal offences. For example, rape in marriage has been recognised in law and criminalised at different times in different countries. Public and media debates related to specific incidents of violence against women can also shape people’s views (15).

The prevalence of violence can also be higher for certain groups in the population, such as specific age groups or people with disabilities. The socio-demographic profile of the population can differ from country to country, and this may lead to differences in the prevalence rates of violence between countries or within a country between different regions. In addition, the ‘Nordic paradox’ (16) reveals a pattern whereby Member States that score highly on gender equality also tend to show higher levels of gender-based violence in surveys. This can occur for the reasons outlined above, among others (17).

When interpreting the results, attention also needs to be paid to the ‘mode’ of questionnaire delivery in each country. For example, data collection may be undertaken through self- completion (in an online survey or as a module in a face-to-face interview) or interviewer- administered questions (see the Annex). The choice of data collection mode(s) may have an impact on women’s willingness to disclose certain incidents.

In view of these factors, comparisons of the prevalence of violence against women between countries should be carried out cautiously. The results should not be interpreted as providing the complete picture of women’s experiences of violence in a country, as more nuanced analysis of the correlates of violence and contextual factors needs to be taken into account. More detailed analysis of the factors influencing the prevalence of violence will be included in the main results report of the survey, which will be published in 2025.

AGGREGATE DATA ON VIOLENCE AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The results presented in this report are the latest EU-level data on the violence that women experience, as collected using the methodology of the EU gender-based violence survey (wave 2021). These and other selected results are disseminated through Eurostat’s online database (18), which offers the possibility to visualise the data and customise tables.

The following chapters showcase selected descriptive statistics based on the EU gender-based violence survey, focusing on the prevalence of violence against women. More data were collected in the survey concerning various forms of violence and their impact and consequences for victims. That allows ample possibility for further, in-depth analysis that is beyond the scope of this report. In 2025, Eurostat, FRA and EIGE will produce a report analysing the results in further detail, focusing on indicators other than those presented here.

In a number of Member States, the relevant national authorities involved in conducting the survey have published their own analyses of the results, focusing in more detail on the national (and in some cases also regional) results.

In parallel, the results of the survey can be used to inform discussions concerning progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs) under the UN’s 2030 Agenda, specifically indicators 5.2.1 and 5.2.2, while also contributing data for other indicators related to personal safety and security, and access to justice:

Ū SDG indicator 5.2.1 – proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age;

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Ū SDG indicator 5.2.2 – proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence.

In September 2024, UN member states reaffirmed their commitment to take action to eradicate all forms of violence and harassment against women and girls (19). They have also committed to recognising that the elimination of violence against women is an essential component of achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls – which are crucial for progress across all the SDGs and targets.

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RELIABILITY OF THE RESULTS

The survey results that are based on only a few sample observations or that have a higher rate of non-response should be considered less reliable. Where this is the case, the results from the survey cannot be disseminated, or a note draws attention to their limited reliability. Results are presented in brackets if they are based on 20 to 49 responses, and results based on fewer than 20 responses are not published (denoted in the tables with ‘—’). Results also appear in brackets if the variable in question has an item non-response rate between 20 % and 50 %. If the item non-response rate associated with the result exceeds 50 %, the result is not published. Here, item non-response refers to respondents answering a question in the survey with ‘Don’t want to answer’ or ‘Don’t know / Can’t remember’ or the answer being missing for some other reason.

Scope of the survey

— The results presented in this report are based on the EU gender-based violence survey (wave 2021). The results cover the 27 Member States. — In total, the estimated EU-27 average results presented in this report are based on data collected from 114 023 women (18–74 years of age) across the EU. The data collection took place between September 2020 and March 2024. — Eurostat coordinated the data collection in 18 Member States, and the national statistical authorities of these countries carried out the survey. Italy agreed to share the data from its national survey to provide comparable data for the main indicators. For the remaining eight Member States, FRA and EIGE took responsibility for the data collection, while Ipsos NV – an international survey research company – carried out the survey fieldwork following the Eurostat methodological manual.

For more details on the survey methodology, see the Annex and the survey metadata, available at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/en/gbv_sims. htm.

How to read these results: time frames used in the survey

The report refers to the prevalence of violence as the percentage of women who have experienced a particular type of violence (one or more incidents) in a given time frame: ‘lifetime’, ‘since the age of 15’ or in the ‘12 months before the survey’.

The prevalence of violence over the past 12 months can be used to analyse the most recent past and to compare results between different sources, including statistics on police-recorded incidents of violence, since these statistics are typically published on an annual basis. The lifetime prevalence of violence is also important, as it reflects the burden of violence in the course of a lifetime, given that violence can have various long-term consequences, such as injuries, psychological repercussions or loss of income.

In the survey, women were asked whether they had experienced specific acts of physical, sexual or psychological violence by an intimate partner during their entire relationship. Similarly, the question concerning sexual harassment at work referred to experiences in their ‘entire working life’. In this report, these experiences are denoted as ‘lifetime’.

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Experiences of violence in which the perpetrator was someone other than a woman’s intimate partner (also referred to as a non-partner) were considered from the age of 15 years. The corresponding results are denoted in this report as experiences ‘since the age of 15’.

For brevity, data that combine women’s experiences with both intimate partners and non-partners are referred to as ‘lifetime’ experiences. However, the experiences with non-partners included in this estimate refer to events that took place from the age of 15 years (and not before the age of 15).

WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE OF VIOLENCE BY ANY PERPETRATOR

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KEY FINDINGS: WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE OF VIOLENCE BY ANY PERPETRATOR

— One in three women in the EU-27 (30.7 %) have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence over their lifetime, by any perpetrator. — Among women in the EU-27, 13.5 % have experienced physical violence and/or have been threatened with physical violence (but not sexual), and 17.2 % have experienced sexual violence (including rape and other unwanted sexual acts). — Of the women who have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, 20.5 % have contacted a healthcare service or social service provider as a result of the incident, and 13.9 % have reported the incident to the police.

EXTENT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BY ANY PERPETRATOR

In the EU-27, 30.7 % of women have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by any perpetrator over their lifetime. In the context of these results, experiences of violence by ‘any perpetrator’ refer to violence perpetrated by a woman’s intimate partner (current partner or any previous partner) and by people who were not an intimate partner (non-partners). This includes both male and female perpetrators (Table 1). Across Member States, the prevalence of such violence ranges from 57.1 % in Finland, 52.5 % in Sweden and 49.1 % in Hungary to under 20 % in Czechia and Portugal (both 19.7 %), Poland (16.7 %) and Bulgaria (11.9 %) (Figure 1).

Countries vary in the type of violence that women most commonly mentioned in the survey. In some of the countries with the highest overall prevalence of violence, the rate of sexual violence experienced by women is high: 41.0 % of women in Sweden, 37.3 % in Finland, 33.3 % in Denmark, 30.0 % in Luxembourg and 28.6 % in the Netherlands (Table 1). However, in Hungary, which is also among the countries with the highest overall prevalence, the rate of physical violence and/or threats (31.2 %) is higher than that of sexual violence (17.9 %).

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TABLE 1 – WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE OR THREATS AND/OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE BY ANY PERPETRATOR IN THEIR LIFETIME (%)

Member State Physical violence and/or

threats (no sexual violence)

Sexual violence Total – physical violence or threats and/or sexual

violence

BE 12.9 16.1 29.1

BG 8.5 3.4 11.9

CZ 10.6 9.2 19.7

DK 14.2 33.3 47.5

DE 10.8 14.8 25.6

EE 15.1 18.0 33.1

IE 19.0 21.7 40.7

EL 18.4 18.1 36.5

ES 10.6 17.6 28.2

FR 12.9 21.6 34.5

HR 11.9 13.4 25.3

IT 12.9 18.8 31.7

CY 21.5 14.6 36.1

LV 16.0 9.0 25.1

LT 15.0 10.2 25.2

LU 15.4 30.0 45.4

HU 31.2 17.9 49.1

MT 13.3 11.1 24.4

NL 12.6 28.6 41.2

AT 12.0 23.7 35.7

PL 11.6 5.0 16.7

PT 13.2 6.4 19.7

RO 28.2 13.9 42.2

SI 13.0 9.6 22.5

SK 20.3 17.6 37.9

FI 19.7 37.3 57.1

SE 11.5 41.0 52.5

EU-27 13.5 17.2 30.7

NB: The results from Italy are based on a national survey that did not follow the EU-GBV survey methodology.

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, wave 2021, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data code: gbv_any_type.

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FIGURE 1 – WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE OR THREATS AND/OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE BY ANY PERPETRATOR IN THEIR LIFETIME (%)

Administrative boundaries: © EuroGeographics © UN–FAO © Turkstat

35.7

29.1

47.5

25.6 41.2 16.7

19.7 28.2

11.9

36.1

42.2

19.7

57.1

33.1

49.1

24.4

36.5

25.3 22.5

37.9

52.5

34.5

40.7

25.2

45.4

25.1

31.7

24.4

Malta

% of women (aged 18-74 years) ≥ 45.4 37.9 – < 45.4 29.1 – < 37.9 22.5 – < 29.1 16.7 – < 22.5 < 16.7

Cartography: Eurostat – IMAGE, 10/2024

NB: The results from Italy are based on a national survey that did not follow the EU-GBV methodology.

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, 2021 wave, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data code: gbv_any_type. 

What the survey asked about physical violence or threats and sexual violence

In the survey, women were asked separately about their experiences relating to (i) intimate partners (including their current partner and former partner(s)) and (ii) other perpetrators. The survey asked women ‘Has any partner / someone other than your intimate partner ever done the following?’

Physical violence (including being threatened with physical violence)

— Threatened to harm you in a way that frightened you? — Pushed, shoved or pulled your hair on purpose in a way that hurt or frightened you? — Thrown something at you or slapped you on purpose in a way that hurt or frightened you? — Beat you with his/her fist or with an object or kicked you on purpose in a way that hurt or frightened you? — Burned you on purpose?

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— Tried to suffocate you or strangled you on purpose? — Threatened to use or actually used a knife, gun or acid or something similar against you? — Ever used force against you in any other way than mentioned above, in a way that hurt or frightened you?

Sexual violence

— Forced you to have sexual intercourse by threatening you, holding you down or hurting you in some way? (By sexual intercourse, we mean here vaginal or anal penetration or oral sex or penetration with objects.) — Made you have sexual intercourse when you could not refuse due to the influence of alcohol or drugs? — Made you have sexual intercourse with someone else by force, threat or blackmail (also in exchange for money, goods or favours)? — Attempted to force you to have sexual intercourse by threatening you, holding you down or hurting you in some way but intercourse did not occur? — Apart from what is mentioned above, has someone touched your genitals, breasts, bottom or lips when you did not want them to? (Asked only with respect to experiences of violence perpetrated by perpetrators other than intimate partners.) — Forced you to do something else sexual other than what is mentioned above that you found degrading or humiliating?

For more details concerning the questions asked, see the survey questionnaire in Chapter 3 of the survey methodological guidelines (Eurostat, Methodological manual for the EU survey on gender-based violence against women and other forms of inter-personal violence (EU-GBV) – 2021 edition, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2021).

While the lifetime prevalence of physical violence and/or threats (no sexual violence) varies between 31.2 % and 8.5 % across the EU-27 depending on the country (EU-27 average: 13.5 %), there is more variation in the prevalence of sexual violence, from 41.0 % to 3.4 % (EU-27 average: 17.2 %). Differences between Member States in the prevalence of sexual violence and physical violence or threats are examined in more detail later in this report.

Table 4 presents women’s experiences of violence by perpetrators other than their intimate partner by type of violence, namely rape, sexual violence other than rape, and physical violence or threats. The countries with the highest prevalence of sexual violence tend to be countries where self-completion was used as the sole mode of data collection. This involves respondents completing the survey themselves, without the involvement of an interviewer (20). Therefore, as mentioned in the section ‘Interpreting the results – points to consider’, the mode of survey delivery may influence the degree to which violence is disclosed in a survey.

Experiences of sexual violence can be accompanied by a feeling of shame or embarrassment, and women may find it easier to share these experiences directly than to tell an interviewer about what happened. This is despite efforts to train interviewers to treat respondents in a sensitive and empathetic manner and to assure respondents that the information they provide will be treated anonymously as aggregate statistics. In several countries where data collection was not fully based on self-completion, selected parts of the questionnaire were administered using self-completion while the rest of the survey was administered by the interviewer.

Regarding the action taken after violence took place, women were asked in the survey if they contacted anyone – such as a friend or another person they were close to, a healthcare provider or the police – as a result of the violence they experienced, irrespective of who the perpetrator was.

Across the EU, 63.7 % of women indicated that they talked to a person close to them such as a friend, family member or relative. Besides informal support, 20.5 % of women indicated that they contacted a healthcare service or social service provider, 13.9 % reported the incident to the

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police and 6.4 % contacted a helpline or victim support service. This shows that most incidents of violence do not come to the attention of the police and other service providers, and many victims and survivors have to cope with their experiences without professional support. As a result, victims may not be fully informed of their rights and the support available to them.

VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER

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KEY FINDINGS: VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER

— Close to one in five women in the EU-27 (17.7 %) have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. — Across the EU-27, 14.6 % of women have experienced violence by their intimate partner more than once. — In total, 19.3 % of women in the EU-27 have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence in their lifetime by a domestic perpetrator – that is, an intimate partner or a relative, or another person living in the same household as them.

EXTENT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER

In the EU-27, 17.7 % of women have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence over the course of their lives by an intimate partner (Figure 2). The prevalence rate of lifetime intimate partner violence is higher – 31.8 % – when psychological violence is included (Figure 3). In the 12 months before the survey, 5.3 % of women in the EU had experienced physical violence or threats, sexual violence and/or psychological violence by an intimate partner (Table 2).

In the context of the survey, intimate partners include a partner by marriage, civil union or registered partnership or another person with whom the respondent is in a relationship. The latter can include intimate partners who are or are not living with the respondent (e.g. dating partners). It includes the respondent’s current partner and any former partners, male or female.

The results presented in this chapter refer to the experiences of women who had an intimate partner at the time of the survey (current partner) or had an intimate partner in the past (former partner). The results presented later in this chapter also include the prevalence of violence perpetrated by domestic perpetrators, who include intimate partners and relatives, as well as other people who were living with the respondent when the incident of violence took place.

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TABLE 2 – WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE OR THREATS, SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND/OR PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER IN THEIR LIFETIME AND IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE SURVEY (%)

Member State

Physical violence or threats and/or sexual

violence

Psychological violence, physical violence or threats, and/or sexual violence

Lifetime Lifetime Past 12 months

BE 17.1 31.3 6.3

BG 9.3 20.5 4.6

CZ 13.4 33.5 5.8

DK 25.7 45.0 6.5

DE 15.8 31.9 5.0

EE 21.8 41.2 6.1

IE 22.7 35.0 (5.2)

EL 21.7 41.8 6.9

ES 14.4 28.6 4.1

FR 17.7 30.2 4.3

HR 12.7 28.1 5.4

IT 13.6 25.9 —

CY 30.0 44.5 10.0

LV 16.1 30.1 4.2

LT 16.6 30.7 4.3

LU 26.6 47.4 10.5

HU 41.1 54.6 7.6

MT 14.6 26.0 3.5

NL 16.7 33.4 5.0

AT 17.1 37.8 5.6

PL 11.2 19.6 2.8

PT 10.3 22.5 3.5

RO 37.0 48.9 11.7

SI 13.4 27.9 4.9

SK 30.7 50.8 (11.0)

FI 33.8 52.6 12.0

SE 31.0 48.2 6.9

EU-27 17.7 31.8 5.3

NB:Results in brackets or results that are missing from the table indicate that these results are less reliable. Results can also be missing to ensure confidentiality (for details, see the section ‘Reliability of the results ’). For Italy, the prevalence of psychological violence, physical violence or threats, and/or sexual violence in the 12 months before the survey is not available, and the estimated EU average for this result does not include Italy. The results from Italy are based on a national survey that did not follow the EU-GBV methodology.

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, wave 2021, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data codes: gbv_ipv_type and gpb_ipv_occ.

22

The lifetime rate of intimate partner violence (physical violence or threats, sexual violence and/ or psychological violence) ranges from 54.6 % in Hungary, 52.6 % in Finland and 50.8 % in Slovakia to 22.5 % in Portugal, 20.5 % in Bulgaria and 19.6 % in Poland (Table 2).

For a majority of women who experience physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner, this involves repeated incidents of violence. Overall, 14.6 % of women in the EU indicate that they have experienced this more than once, while 3.5 % noted in the survey that it was a single incident (21).

FIGURE 2 – WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE OR THREATS AND/OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER IN THEIR LIFETIME (%)

Administrative boundaries: © EuroGeographics © UN–FAO © Turkstat

17.1

17.1

25.7

15.8 16.7 11.2

10.3 14.4

9.3

30.0

37.0

13.4

33.8

21.8

41.1

14.6

21.7

12.7 13.4

30.7

31.0

17.7

22.7

16.6

26.6

16.1

13.6

14.6

Malta

% of ever-partnered women (aged 18-74 years) ≥ 31 26.6 – < 31 17.7 – < 26.6 14.6 – < 17.7 11.2 – < 14.6 < 11.2

Cartography: Eurostat – IMAGE, 10/2024

NB: The results from Italy are based on a national survey that did not follow the EU-GBV methodology.

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, 2021 wave, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data code: gbv_ipv_type.

Results in Figure 3 include psychological violence, in addition to experiences of physical violence or threats, and sexual violence as shown in Figure 2. The overall rate of violence is higher when psychological violence is included (Figure 3).

23

FIGURE 3 – WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE OR THREATS, SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND/OR PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER IN THEIR LIFETIME (%)

Administrative boundaries: © EuroGeographics © UN–FAO © Turkstat

37.8

31.3

45.0

31.9 33.4 19.6

22.5 28.6

20.5

44.5

48.9

33.5

52.6

41.2

54.6

26.0

41.8

28.1 27.9

50.8

48.2

30.2

35.0

30.7

47.4

30.1

25.9

26.0

Malta

% of ever-partnered women (aged 18-74 years) ≥ 45 37.8 – < 45 31.9 – < 37.8 28.6 – < 31.9 22.5 – < 28.6 < 22.5

Cartography: Eurostat – IMAGE, 10/2024

NB: The map shows the prevalence of ever-partnered women experiencing physical violence or threats, sexual violence and/or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner over their lifetime in each of the 27 EU Member States, based on the results presented in Table 2. The results from Italy are based on a national survey that did not follow the EU-GBV methodology.

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, 2021 wave, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data code: gbv_ipv_type.

What the survey asked about psychological and economic violence by an intimate partner

In addition to asking about experiencing acts of physical and sexual violence (see ‘What the survey asked about physical violence or threats and sexual violence’), women who had a current partner and/or at least one former partner were asked about experiencing psychological violence, including abusive and controlling behaviours, and economic violence.

The survey asked women ‘Has any partner ever done the following?’

— Belittled or humiliated you or called you names while alone, together or in front of other people?

24

— Forbidden you to see your friends or be occupied with hobbies or other activities? — Forbidden you to see your family of birth or your relatives (grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc.)? — Insisted on knowing where you are in a controlling way or tracked you via GPS, your phone, a social network, etc.? — Got angry if you spoke with another man/woman or accused you of being unfaithful without any reason? — Expected you to ask for permission to leave the house or locked you up? — Forbidden you to work? — Controlled the whole family’s finances and/or excessively controlled your expenses? — Kept or taken away your ID card/passport in order to control you? — Done things to scare or intimidate you on purpose, for example by yelling and smashing things? — Threatened to hurt your children or someone else you care about? — Threatened to take away your children/to deny custody? — Threatened to harm himself/herself if you leave him/her?

Among the acts listed, economic violence is addressed by two questions. The first asks about the partner taking control of the whole family’s finances and/or excessively controlling the woman’s expenses. The second concerns the act of forbidding the woman to work, as this denies her the ability to participate in the labour market and to have an independent source of income.

In the survey, the questions on psychological violence and economic violence were asked with respect to experiences with intimate partners. In other parts of the survey, respondents could also refer to situations in which a person other than an intimate partner was psychologically abusive – for example sexual harassment at the workplace or stalking.

VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY DOMESTIC PERPETRATORS

In addition to experiencing violence perpetrated by an intimate partner (violence that often takes place at home), 4 % of women in the EU have experienced physical violence or threats and/ or sexual violence perpetrated by a family member or relative in their lifetime. Taking into account violence perpetrated by domestic perpetrators – this includes intimate partners and relatives, as well as other people living in the same household when the violence took place  – one in five women in the EU (19.3 %) have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by a domestic perpetrator in their lifetime.

WOMEN EXPERIENCING STALKING BY AN INTIMATE PARTNER

Alongside questions about intimate partners – including obsessive and controlling behaviours – the survey asked women whether they had experienced stalking, which was defined for the purposes of the survey as experiences that took place repeatedly and caused women fear, alarm or distress. In total, 5.1 % of women in the EU-27 have experienced stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

25

What the survey asked about stalking

The survey asked whether women had experienced repeated distressing behaviour perpetrated by an intimate partner or a non-partner.

The survey asked women ‘During your lifetime, has the same person repeatedly done one or more of the following things to you in a manner which caused you fear, alarm or distress?’

— Sent you unwanted messages (including messages on social media), emails, letters or gifts? — Made obscene, threatening, nuisance or silent telephone calls? — Tried insistently to be in touch with you, waiting or loitering outside your home, school or workplace? — Followed or spied on you in person? — Intentionally damaged your things (car, motorbike, mailbox, etc.) or the belongings of people you care about, or harmed your animals? — Made offensive or embarrassing comments about you publicly (including on social networks)? — Published photos, videos or highly personal information about you?

VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY PEOPLE OTHER THAN AN INTIMATE PARTNER

3

28

KEY FINDINGS: VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY PEOPLE OTHER THAN AN INTIMATE PARTNER

— Among women in the EU-27, 20.2 % have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence since the age of 15 by a perpetrator other than their intimate partner. — Among women in the EU-27, 12.9 % have experienced sexual violence (including rape) by a perpetrator other than their intimate partner since the age of 15. Specifically, 3.8 % of women in the EU have been raped since they were 15 years old by someone other than their intimate partner.

EXTENT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BY PEOPLE OTHER THAN AN INTIMATE PARTNER

Besides experiences of violence in which the perpetrator was an intimate partner, the survey asked about experiences of violence by any other person. This could include people from work or educational settings, acquaintances or strangers, as well as domestic perpetrators other than intimate partners – that is, relatives as well as other people living in the same household. The incidents of violence could take place in a variety of settings: at home or in public places, including on public transport, in the street or in a park, in a shop or restaurant, or in relation to other leisure activities.

In the 12 months before the survey, 1.5 % of women had experienced a person other than their partner using physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence against them.

The survey asked women about their experiences with non-partners, using the same list of violent acts as that used to ask about physical violence (including threats) and sexual violence by intimate partners (as listed in ‘What the survey asked about physical violence or threats and sexual violence’). As opposed to asking about experiences in their lifetime, the question on experiences with non-partners asked respondents to consider their experiences since the age of 15. For information regarding the different time frames used in the survey questions, see ‘How to read these results: time frames used in the survey’.

Overall, 20.2 % of women in the EU have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by a perpetrator other than their intimate partner since the age of 15 (Table 3).

Across Member States, this percentage ranges from 46.5 % in Finland, 42.0 % in Sweden and 38.2 % in Denmark to less than 10 % of women in Czechia, Poland and Bulgaria (Figure 4).

29

TABLE 3 – WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE OR THREATS AND/OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE BY SOMEONE OTHER THAN THEIR INTIMATE PARTNER, SINCE THE AGE OF 15 (%)

Member State Experiences of women since the age of 15

BE 19.1

BG 5.9

CZ 9.7

DK 38.2

DE 14.1

EE 20.6

IE 27.6

EL 24.8

ES 20.0

FR 26.1

HR 18.7

IT 24.8

CY 14.6

LV 13.9

LT 13.6

LU 33.7

HU 19.2

MT 15.1

NL 35.5

AT 27.5

PL 8.2

PT 13.1

RO 14.1

SI 16.0

SK 16.9

FI 46.5

SE 42.0

EU-27 20.2

NB:The results from Italy are based on a national survey that did not follow the EU-GBV methodology.

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, wave 2021, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data code: gbv_npv_occ.

30

FIGURE 4 – WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE OR THREATS AND/OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE BY SOMEONE OTHER THAN THEIR INTIMATE PARTNER, SINCE THE AGE OF 15 (%)

Administrative boundaries: © EuroGeographics © UN–FAO © Turkstat

27.5

19.1

38.2

14.1 35.5 8.2

13.1 20.0

5.9

14.6

14.1

9.7

46.5

20.6

19.2

15.1

24.8

18.7 16.0

16.9

42.0

26.1

27.6

13.6

33.7

13.9

24.8

15.1

Malta

% of women (aged 18-74 years) ≥ 35.5 27.6 – < 35.5 20.6 – < 27.6 16 – < 20.6 9.7 – < 16 < 9.7

Cartography: Eurostat – IMAGE, 10/2024

NB: The results from Italy are based on a national survey that did not follow the EU-GBV methodology.

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, 2021 wave, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data code: gbv_ipv_type.

Overall, 8.1 % of women in the EU have experienced, since the age of 15, physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by the same non-partner two or more times (this includes incidents perpetrated by one person and incidents in which a group of people were involved in committing the violent acts), while 11.1 % indicated that they have experienced one incident. These results are in contrast with women’s experiences of violence perpetrated by intimate partners, which are more likely to involve repeated incidents of violence. A greater percentage have experienced two or more incidents of physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence perpetrated by an intimate partner (14.6 %) than by a non-partner, while a smaller percentage (3.5 %) have experienced one incident.

Focusing on experiences of sexual violence, 12.9 % of women in the EU have experienced sexual violence (including rape) by a perpetrator other than their intimate partner since the age of 15. Specifically, 3.8 % of women in the EU have been raped since they were 15 years old by someone other than their intimate partner, and 9.1 % have experienced some type of sexual violence other than rape (Table 4). Overall, the prevalence of rape and other sexual violence varies more between countries than the prevalence of physical violence or threats does.

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TABLE 4 – TYPES OF VIOLENCE THAT WOMEN HAVE EXPERIENCED BY SOMEONE OTHER THAN THEIR INTIMATE PARTNER, SINCE THE AGE OF 15 (%)

Member State Physical violence or

threats (and no sexual violence)

Sexual violence other than rape Rape

BE 7.6 7.5 4.0

BG 3.5 0.9 1.5

CZ 5.3 1.7 2.7

DK 9.5 19.9 8.9

DE 4.7 4.9 4.5

EE 7.8 7.0 5.8

IE 12.7 9.8 (5.1)

EL 10.3 12.5 2.0

ES 6.5 10.8 2.7

FR 9.3 11.9 4.9

HR 7.9 8.7 2.1

IT 7.1 14.3 3.4

CY 8.1 3.5 (3.0)

LV 8.0 3.5 2.4

LT 7.6 3.4 2.6

LU 10.7 15.6 7.4

HU 10.8 5.4 3.0

MT 7.8 4.3 3.0

NL 9.6 18.8 7.0

AT 7.3 16.0 4.1

PL 6.1 1.5 (0.6)

PT 9.3 2.9 1.0

RO 9.5 2.1 (2.5)

SI 9.3 5.2 (1.5)

SK 10.7 2.4 3.8

FI 12.3 24.4 9.8

SE 7.1 22.3 12.6

EU-27 7.4 9.1 3.8

NB:Results in brackets indicate that these results are less reliable. Results can also be missing to ensure confidentiality (for details, see the section ‘Reliability of the results’). The category ‘Sexual violence other than rape’ has been calculated based on data from the Eurostat database by deducting the percentage of women experiencing rape by a non-partner from the percentage of women experiencing sexual violence (including rape) by a non-partner. The results from Italy are based on a national survey that did not follow the EU-GBV methodology.

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, wave 2021, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data code: gbv_npv_type.

32

As indicated earlier in this report, the differences between countries regarding the rates of violence should be interpreted cautiously. Particularly with respect to sexual violence perpetrated by non-partners, the World Health Organization has noted in its analysis of global estimates of violence against women that this form of violence continues to be stigmatising for women and that disclosing it can be associated with a fear of being blamed about what happened or experiencing other societal repercussions (22). As a result, there are likely to be many incidents of sexual non-partner violence that are not reported in a survey or that do not come to the attention of the authorities, including the police.

People’s awareness of what constitutes an act of sexual violence may also differ from country to country, and this has an impact on the extent to which experiences of sexual violence are disclosed in a survey. An example of this is the different definitions of rape in national legislation. Some countries define rape based on the perpetrator using physical force, while other countries apply the definition in the Istanbul Convention, which focuses on non-consensual penetration of a sexual nature. These differences in the legislation between countries may contribute to shaping public perception of the various forms of violence and may affect the extent to which experiences of violence are discussed and reported to the authorities.

According to the survey, among age groups, the highest prevalence of experiences of physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence since the age of 15 is among young women: those aged 18–29 years in the survey (Figure 5). In this age group, one in four women have experienced violence by a person other than their intimate partner.

FIGURE 5 – WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED PHYSICAL VIOLENCE OR THREATS AND/OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE BY SOMEONE OTHER THAN THEIR INTIMATE PARTNER SINCE THE AGE OF 15, BY AGE GROUP (%)

18–29 30–44 45–64 65–74

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, wave 2021, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data code: gbv_npv_age.

In terms of the perpetrators involved, 8.4 % of women in the EU-27 have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by a stranger since the age of 15, and 10.6 % have experienced violence perpetrated by somebody whom they knew but who was not a family member or relative. In addition, 4.0 % of women indicated that the perpetrator was a family member or relative, which includes people with whom the victim was living or was otherwise in contact.

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WOMEN EXPERIENCING STALKING BY A PERSON OTHER THAN AN INTIMATE PARTNER

In addition to experiences of physical violence, threats or sexual violence, the survey asked women whether they had experienced stalking, including incidents in which the perpetrator was somebody other than an intimate partner (for details on the questions asked, see ‘What the survey asked about stalking’). In total, 13.6 % of women in the EU-27 have experienced stalking by perpetrators other than an intimate partner over their lifetime.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK

4

36

KEY FINDINGS: SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK

— One in three women in the EU-27 (30.8 %) have experienced sexual harassment at work in their lifetime. — The rate of sexual harassment at work is higher (41.6 %) among women in the youngest age group in the survey (18–29 years) than in other age groups. — In a majority of cases, the perpetrator of sexual harassment was a man. Among women in the EU-27, 15.8 % have experienced sexual harassment by a male co- worker, 7.4 % by a male boss or supervisor and 9.3 % by another man in the work context (e.g. a client or customer).

EXTENT OF WOMEN EXPERIENCING SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK

In the EU, 30.8 % of women have experienced sexual harassment at work in their lifetime, and 4.3 % of women experienced it in the 12 months before the survey (Table 5). Across Member States, the percentage of women who have experienced sexual harassment at work in their lifetime ranges from 55.4 % in Sweden, 53.7 % in Finland, 53.0 % in Slovakia and 52.9 % in Luxembourg to 12.3 % in Portugal, 12.2 % in Bulgaria and 11.0 % in Latvia (Figure 6). The results concerning sexual harassment at work refer to the experiences of women who were employed or self-employed at the time of the survey or had been working in the past.

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TABLE 5 – WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK (%)

Member State Lifetime Past 12 months

BE 32.9 5.8

BG 12.2 3.2

CZ 30.5 4.4

DK 46.4 6.3

DE 32.1 3.3

EE 33.3 3.6

IE 44.0 6.7

EL 42.6 6.7

ES 28.2 4.4

FR 41.1 4.4

HR 36.4 6.4

IT 14.8 2.3

CY 39.9 7.4

LV 11.0 1.6

LT 19.1 2.5

LU 52.9 9.7

HU 40.1 5.8

MT 27.1 4.6

NL 40.9 6.6

AT 26.6 2.9

PL 13.0 2.0

PT 12.3 2.2

RO 32.5 6.2

SI 31.7 6.8

SK 53.0 9.4

FI 53.7 5.4

SE 55.4 11.1

EU-27 30.8 4.3

NB:The results from Italy are based on a national survey that did not follow the EU-GBV methodology.

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, wave 2021, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data code: gbv_shw_occ.

38

What the survey asked about sexual harassment at work

In the survey, women were asked about experiencing sexual harassment in their working lives. The results concerning the prevalence of sexual harassment have been calculated as a percentage of women (18–74 years) who are currently employed or self-employed or have had a job in the past.

Women were asked about their experiences of sexual harassment using the following list of acts. The acts include examples of physical acts of sexual harassment, verbal or non-verbal sexual harassment, and technology-facilitated sexual harassment. The relevant experiences are not limited to a specific physical location (the workplace) and can include sexual harassment perpetrated by people such as supervisors, colleagues or clients in the course of respondents’ work activities, irrespective of where the work is performed.

The survey asked women ‘During your entire working life, have you ever experienced any of the following unwanted behaviours?’

— Inappropriate staring or leering that made you feel uncomfortable? — Exposure to sexually explicit images or videos that made you feel offended, humiliated or intimidated? — Indecent sexual jokes or offensive remarks about your body or private life? — Inappropriate suggestions to go out on a date, which made you feel offended, humiliated or intimidated? — Inappropriate suggestions for any sexual activity? — Unsolicited physical contact (e.g. close proximity, touching body parts, kisses/ hugs or something else that you did not want)? — Inappropriate advances on social networking websites? — Inappropriate sexually explicit emails or text messages? — Somebody threatening you with unpleasant consequences if you refused sexual proposals or advances? — Other similar behaviour at work (with a sexual connotation) not mentioned, which made you feel offended, humiliated or intimidated?

39

FIGURE 6 – WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK IN THEIR LIFETIME (%)

Administrative boundaries: © EuroGeographics © UN–FAO © Turkstat

26.6

32.9

46.4

32.1 40.9 13.0

12.3 28.2

12.2

39.9

32.5

30.5

53.7

33.3

40.1

27.1

42.6

36.4 31.7

53.0

55.4

41.1

44.0

19.1

52.9

11.0

14.8

27.1

Malta

% of ever-working women (aged 18-74 years) ≥ 46.4 36.4 – < 46.4 28.2 – < 36.4 19.1 – < 28.2 14.8 – < 19.1 < 14.8

Cartography: Eurostat – IMAGE, 10/2024

NB: The results from Italy are based on a national survey that did not follow the EU-GBV methodology.

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, 2021 wave, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data code: gbv_ipv_type.

In the youngest age group (18–29 years), two in five women (41.6 %) have experienced sexual harassment at work (Figure 7). This and other results concerning sexual harassment in the survey are based on the experiences of women who were employed or self-employed at the time of the survey or in the past had been in work. The prevalence of sexual harassment experienced in a woman’s working life decreases with respondents’ age, down to 19.9 % of women aged 65– 74 years who have experienced sexual harassment at work. Many women in this latter age group are likely to be in retirement and therefore to be describing their past experiences (some of which may have taken place a long time ago). By contrast, for many women in the other age groups, sexual harassment at work can be a part of their daily lives. Furthermore, people’s awareness of sexual harassment as a concept and the various acts that could be considered as sexual harassment have evolved over time. This can therefore have an impact on the extent to which women in different age groups recognise what they have experienced as sexual harassment and disclose it in a survey.

40

FIGURE 7 – WOMEN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK IN THEIR LIFETIME, BY AGE GROUP (%)

18–29 30–44 45–64 65–74

Source: Eurostat, EU-GBV survey, wave 2021, data collection coordinated by Eurostat, FRA and EIGE. Eurostat online data code: gbv_shw_age.

PERPETRATORS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK

Overall, 27.2 % of women have experienced sexual harassment at work by a male perpetrator, while 30.8 % of women have experienced sexual harassment at work by ‘any perpetrator’. From these results, it is possible to conclude that most incidents of sexual harassment against women are perpetrated by men. Among the male perpetrators, 15.8 % of women in the EU-27 have experienced sexual harassment by a co-worker and 7.4 % have experienced sexual harassment by a boss or supervisor, while 9.3 % indicated that the sexual harassment was perpetrated by another man in the work context; this could include a client or customer.

ANNEX: METHODOLOGY

42

The results presented in this report are based on interviews with 114 023 women in the 27 Member States. In each country, respondents were selected using random (probability) sampling with nationwide coverage to ensure that the results were representative of women’s experiences at the country level and for the EU overall.

The data collection used the methods that were considered most appropriate in the national context, including face-to-face interviews (in some cases, the respondents themselves completed parts of the questionnaire, as opposed to an interviewer administering the survey), telephone interviews and data collection through web-based questionnaires (Table 6). The data collection took place between September 2020 and March 2024. In some countries, the survey fieldwork coincided with the period when Member States implemented various restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant that countries had to quickly adopt a different data collection approach from the one originally planned (e.g. when the national restrictions meant that face-to-face interviews were no longer possible).

Eurostat coordinated the data collection in 18 Member States, and the national statistical authorities of these countries carried out the survey. Italy agreed to share the data from its national survey to provide comparable data for the main indicators. For the remaining eight Member States, FRA and EIGE took responsibility for the data collection, and Ipsos NV – an international survey research company – carried out the fieldwork in accordance with Eurostat’s methodological guidelines.

The sample size varies by country. While this report presents the survey results at the national and EU levels, some countries also carried out comparisons between regions within the country and therefore opted for a larger sample size to ensure sufficient coverage of each region. Data from each country were transmitted to Eurostat, which carried out data quality checks. These were in addition to the quality assurance measures taken at the country level.

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TABLE 6 – OVERVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EU GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE SURVEY DATA COLLECTION BY COUNTRY

Member State Net sample size (women) Interview mode Coordination of data collection

BE 4 529 CAPI/CATI/CAWI Eurostat

BG 5 580 CAPI/CAWI Eurostat

CZ 2 043 CAPI-CASI FRA and EIGE

DK 12 740 CAWI Eurostat

DE 2 419 CAPI-CASI FRA and EIGE

EE 4 573 CAPI/CATI/CAWI Eurostat

IE 994 CAPI-CASI FRA and EIGE

EL 11 557 CAPI/CATI/CAWI Eurostat

ES 6 310 CAPI/CAWI Eurostat

FR 6 889 CAWI/CATI Eurostat

HR 3 416 CAWI/CATI Eurostat

CY 1 500 CAPI-CASI FRA and EIGE

LV 3 941 CAWI/CATI Eurostat

LT 3 186 CAPI/CATI/CAWI Eurostat

LU 1 924 CAWI FRA and EIGE

HU 2 002 CAPI-CASI FRA and EIGE

MT 3 014 CATI Eurostat

NL 4 184 CAWI Eurostat

AT 6 240 CAPI-CASI/CAWI Eurostat

PL 5 190 CAPI/CATI/PASI/PAPI Eurostat

PT 6 348 CAPI/CATI/CAWI Eurostat

RO 2 003 CAPI-CASI FRA and EIGE

SI 1 282 CAPI/CATI/CAWI Eurostat

SK 5 000 CAPI Eurostat

FI 4 597 CAWI Eurostat

SE 2 562 CAWI FRA and EIGE

NB: CAPI, computer-assisted personal interviewing; CASI, computer-assisted self-interviewing; CATI, computer-assisted telephone interviewing; CAWI, computer-assisted web-based interviewing; PAPI, paper- and-pen interviewing; PASI, paper-and-pen self-interviewing. ‘CAPI-CASI’ refers to CAPI with an embedded self-completion module. Apart from this, where more than one data collection mode is indicated for a country, this includes situations in which respondents were offered a choice of modes, separate sub-samples were each assigned a different interview mode or the modes were used sequentially (attempting first to conduct the interview in one mode and, if this was not successful, making the next attempt using another mode).Italy is not included in the table, as Italy did not implement the EU-GBV survey but instead shared data from its national survey to provide comparable data for the main indicators.

Source: Eurostat, FRA and EIGE, 2024.

A full description of the survey methodology – including the survey questionnaire – is available in Eurostat’s methodological manual (23). Further details on the survey outcomes and information pertaining to survey quality can be found in the EU gender-based violence survey metadata description (24).

44

Endnotes 1 FRA (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights), Violence against Women – An EU-wide survey. Main

results report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2014.

2 At the time of this report’s publication.

3 Council of Europe, Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, 2011, Article 3.

4 Directive (EU) 2024/1385 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on combating violence against women and domestic violence (OJ L, 2024/1385).

5 Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA (OJ L 315).

6 Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (recast) (OJ L 204).

7 European Commission, ‘Ending gender-based violence’.

8 FRA, Violence against Women – An EU-wide survey. Main results report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2014.

9 For more details on the EU gender-based violence survey, see Eurostat, ‘Gender-based violence’.

10 Of the 18 Member States in which the national statistical authorities carried out the EU gender-based violence survey, in 11 a separate sample of men were also interviewed about their experiences of violence, and these results can be found in the national survey reports.

11 FRA, Crime, Safety and Victims’ Rights, Fundamental Rights Survey, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2021.

12 FRA, Women as Victims of Partner Violence – Justice for victims of violent crime. Part IV, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019.

13 For example, see EIGE, Methodological Guidance – Administrative data collection on violence against women and domestic violence, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2023.

14 For details on surveys collecting comparable data on violence against women around the world, see WHO (World Health Organization), Violence against Women Prevalence Estimates, 2018, Geneva, 2021.

15 For further details on factors that can help explain differences in the prevalence of violence against women between countries in the EU, see FRA, Violence against Women – An EU-wide survey. Main results report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2014, pp. 22–26.

16 The Nordic paradox has been described, for example, by Garcia, E. and Merlo, J., ‘Intimate partner violence against women and the Nordic paradox’, Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 157, 2016, pp. 27–30.

17 For more details on the relationship between gender equality and the prevalence of violence against women, see EIGE, Gender Equality Index 2017 – Violence against women – The most brutal manifestation of gender inequality, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2017.

18 See Eurostat, ‘Gender-based violence: Database’.

19 United Nations, Pact for the future, global digital compact and declaration on future generations, New York, 2024.

20 For an overview of the data-collection modes used in the survey, by country, see the Annex.

21 The frequency count for psychological violence by an intimate partner was not collected in the survey in the same way as for physical violence and/or threats and for sexual violence.

22 WHO, Violence against Women Prevalence Estimates, 2018, Geneva, 2021.

23 Eurostat, Methodological manual for the EU survey on gender-based violence against women and other forms of inter-personal violence (EU-GBV) – 2021 edition, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2021.

24 See Eurostat, ‘Gender based violence against women (gbv) – Reference metadata in Single Integrated Metadata Structure’.