This study aimed to establish a measure of violence against women, using uniform definitions and indicators on rape, femicide and intimate partner violence. It developed definitions and indicators to guide methods of data collection and thus facilitate Member State monitoring requirements under the Victims’ Rights Directive and the Istanbul Convention. By ensuring the reliability and comparability of data, these instruments become more effective in supporting Member States to respond to requests for data on violence against women.
The report deals with reported violence obtained through administrative data sources, as these are the most relevant in assessing institutions’ responses to violence against women. The report focuses on improving administrative data collection on the most serious forms of violence against women: rape, femicide and intimate partner violence. The police and justice sectors are each considered, given their potential to improve the availability and comparability of data on these forms of violence.
This report lays the ground for the establishment of a measure of violence against women through the use of harmonised definitions and indicators on rape, femicide and intimate partner violence. The proposed definitions and indicators will guide methods of data collection across the 28 EU Member States in a way that ensures the reliability and comparability of data.
Violence against women is rooted in women’s unequal status in society, and that status reflects the unequal distribution of social, political and economic power between women and men in society.
The Glossary of definitions of rape, femicide and intimate partner violence has been prepared within the scope of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) "Study on terminology and indicators for data collection on rape, femicide and intimate partner violence".
Administrative data comprises information collected by institutions such as the police, justice system, health and social services and other agencies that come into contact with cases of violence against women (VAW). The police and the justice systems are the most advanced in the availability, quality and comparability of administrative data on violence against women. Further information
The following recommendations aim to support Member States in their efforts to improve administrative data collection on intimate partner violence. Reliable, systematic and comparable data on intimate partner violence (IPV) is necessary to measure the extent, dynamics and consequences of this form of violence against women.
These recommendations aim to improve the comparability and reliability of administrative data collection on rape, femicide and intimate partner violence. The objective is not to achieve perfect comparability but to address the most critical issues in data collection and ensure that key data on these three forms of violence are available.