A new EU report reveals nearly one in three women faces physical or sexual violence, with digital abuse rising and most cases going unreported.
VIENNA: Nearly one in three women in the European Union has experienced physical or sexual violence in her lifetime. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published the alarming findings on Tuesday.
Its survey shows 30.7% of women across Europe have faced such violence since age 15. Close to one in ten women reported being physically injured by a partner.
The study also highlights that 17.2% of women have experienced sexual violence, including rape. Digitalisation is intensifying the abuse women suffer.
Cyberstalking affected 8.5% of women surveyed. A further 10.2% had their location monitored or tracked by an intimate partner.
Most violence remains widely underreported and often overlooked by institutions. Only 6.1% of women reported partner abuse to authorities.
When attacked by non-partners, merely 11.3% filed a report. Shame, fear, self-blame, and lack of trust in police were cited as key reasons.
“When abuse is normalised, hidden or ignored, it reflects systemic failures to uphold rights,” FRA Director Sirpa Rautio said. She called for better protection for victims.
Rautio stressed that member states have clear obligations to prevent violence and ensure access to justice. The report is the agency’s second major study on the issue.
Over 114,000 women aged 18-74 across the bloc were interviewed for the survey. Data collection took place between September 2020 and March 2024.
The 2011 Istanbul Convention aims to combat violence against women. Five EU states have refused to ratify this key text.
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, and Slovakia are the holdout nations. The FRA’s first major study on the topic was published in 2014.
