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Ending gender-based violence

Actions combating gender-based violence, research and campaigns, statistics on gender-based violence.

What is the EU doing?

The EU protects women and children from gender-based and domestic violence through legislation and practical measures.

The EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 confirms the commitment of the European Commission to do all it can to prevent and combat gender-based violence, support and protect victims, and hold perpetrators accountable. The Gender Equality Strategy provides for an ambitious set of measures for ending gender-based violence against women and domestic violence.

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – the ‘Istanbul Convention’ – is the benchmark for international standards in this field. The EU signed the Convention in 2017, and the accession process was concluded in June 2023 with the deposit of the instrument of accession to the Council of Europe. The Convention entered into force on 1 October 2023, binding the EU, with regard to institutions and the public administration of the Union, as well as with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement.

The EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention is a milestone in the EU’s efforts to realise gender equality. It clearly shows the EU’s commitment to stepping up actions against gender-based violence across the 27 Member States and in support of all victims of violence against women and domestic violence.

The European Commission, in its role of coordinating body (Article 10 of the Istanbul Convention), will coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Convention in the areas of EU accession.

Based on the Commission proposal adopted on 8 March 2022, the Council adopted the EU Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence (Directive (EU) 2024/1385 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on combating violence against women and domestic violence (europa.eu), on 7 May 2024, after the European Parliament approved the text on 24 April. Member States will have until 14 June 2027 to transpose the Directive into their national law and policy. The Directive criminalises at EU level certain forms of violence against women offline (female genital mutilation and forced marriage) and online (non-consensual sharing of intimate images, cyber stalking, cyber harassment and incitement to hatred and violence on the ground of gender). It also provides targeted measures of protection, support and access to justice for victims of any form of violence against women and domestic violence where criminalised under national or Union law.  Finally, it requires Member States to set up preventive measures, including specific measures to  prevent rape and to promote the central role of consent in sexual relationships. 

On 29 November 2023 the Commission established an EU network on the prevention of gender-based and domestic violence, where the engagement of men and boys is identified as a key focus. The network will meet twice-yearly and consist of Member State officials and stakeholders.

In addition, the Commission provides funding for organisations on projects tackling gender-based violence through the Daphne stream of the Citizenship, Equality, Rights and Values programme.

The EU also facilitates finding common solutions among EU countries by organising exchanges of good practices on gender equality topics. For example, the Mutual Learning Programme in Gender Equality has facilitated seminars on various aspects of ending violence against women and domestic violence. 

The EU also supports research on gender-based violence. For instance, in support of the proposal for a directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, the Commission commissioned the comparative study of the European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination on the criminalisation of gender-based violence against women in European States. The European Institute on Gender Equality conducted a study on the costs of gender-based violence in the European Union.

Every year, the EU marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November with a joint statement by the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs. The statement shows the commitment of the EU to eradicating violence against women and girls both within the Union and beyond, and calls for action to stand in solidarity with the victims and survivors. The Commission is also taking part in the global campaign of 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence and has run social media campaigns to raise awareness against this violation of human rights #SayNoStopVAW, #OrangeTheWorld and #16Days.

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Easy to read is a way to make information accessible so people with intellectual disabilities and all people can understand it.

  • 8 MARCH 2022
Stopping violence against women - easy to read version

 

Collecting reliable data on gender-based violence

Violence is still regrettably under-reported: only about a third of women who are physically or sexually abused by their partners contact the authorities. In addition, complaints are not systematically recorded, and the data is not easily comparable between EU countries.

Accurate data on the problem is key to develop efficient and effective policy and legal responses and to assess trends and progress.

In March 2014, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published the results of the first ever EU-wide survey on violence against women.

In November 2024, Eurostat, the European Union Fundamental Rights’ Agency (FRA), and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) jointly released the results of a the EU survey on gender-based violence

In addition to survey data, since 2015, Eurostat collects administrative data recorded by national authorities (e.g. police, judiciary) in line with the methodology of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has produced an online mapping tool on administrative data sources and other statistics, as well as studies on violence against women and female genital mutilation.

In 2016, a Eurobarometer on gender-based violence has been carried out in order to better understand attitudes towards and perceptions of the problem. In November 2024, the Commission published a Flash Eurobarometer on Gender Stereotypes on Violence against Women. 

See below a collection of visuals with key statistics on violence against women, which have been used as part of the Commission’s social media campaigns during the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence.

  • 1 DECEMBER 2022
Visuals with statistics on violence against women

 

Documents

  • 14 MAY 2024
Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence
  • 8 MARCH 2023
Study to support the impact assessment on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence
  • 8 MARCH 2022
Proposal for a Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence
  • 8 MARCH 2022
Impact assessment report
  • 3 FEBRUARY 2023
Factsheet - Myth-busting – Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
  • 23 NOVEMBER 2021
Factsheet – Let’s put an end to violence against women
  • 16 MARCH 2016
Factsheet - Istanbul Convention - Combatting violence against women - 2016