14 SEPT: Meeting on recommendations for the improvement of data collection on rape, femicide and intimate partner violence

Since 2010, EIGE has been actively contributing to increasing knowledge of the phenomenon of violence against women across the EU. In this regard, EIGE has mapped the existing data available on different forms of violence against women, identified effective practices in combating violence and analysed legal and background information which gives the framework for EU work on combating violence against women. With the aim of improving the collection and availability of administrative data on violence against women and the need for comparability across the EU, EIGE has analysed and highlighted current gaps in definitions, understandings of concepts and collection of administrative data across the EU, as well as the diversity of legislative approaches across the Member States.  Current data collection practices need to be improved to ensure administrative data are comparable across the EU. 

 

As a starting point for developing harmonised data collection rape, femicide and intimate partner violence were chosen as they represent the most serious and most widely criminalised acts of violence against women. EIGE seeks to establish a measure for these specific forms of violence against women that can guide and support regular collection of reliable and comparable administrative data in this area across the 28 EU Member States. This will add value to EIGE’s on-going work to improve administrative data collection on violence against women.

 

Comparison of the actual extent of violence against women is substantially impaired by the lack of comparable and reliable EU-wide data. Differences in legal definitions of forms of violence and units of measurement hinder the collection of comparable data across the EU Member States. This study is designed to address this issue, focusing on rape, femicide and intimate partner violence as the most serious and more widely criminalised forms of violence against women. 

 

The overall objective of the Study on Terminology and indicators for data collection on rape, femicide and intimate partner violence commissioned by EIGE to Milieu Ltd is to establish a measure of violence against women through the use of indicators on rape, femicide and intimate partner violence, which will guide methods of administrative data collection to ensure reliable and comparable data on violence against women across the 28 European Union (EU) Member States. The Study focuses on the analysis of official administrative data sources. More specifically, the study aims to: 

1. Develop definitions of rape, femicide, and intimate partner violence for statistical purposes.

2. Establish indicators on rape, femicide, and intimate partner violence based on harmonised data collection.

3. Propose recommendations for Member States and EU bodies on the further development of administrative data collection on rape, femicide, and intimate partner violence.

 

If interested to find out more on proposed recommendations that will be discussed during the meeting, please access & download the Background Document. The Background Document has been prepared by Milieu Ltd for EIGE. The views expressed herein are those of the consultants alone and do not necessarily represent the official views of EIGE.