This country profile presents the administrative data collected in Czechia during the 2023–2024 data collection exercise with the support of national data providers and national researchers.
The list of 13 indicators developed by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) for the purposes of this data collection exercise is presented in Annex 1.
The data collected in other countries and the methodological report are published in EIGE’s Gender Statistics Database.
Key findings of EIGE’s 2023–2024 data collection exercise
The figure below outlines the main findings from EIGE’s most recent administrative data collection exercise on intimate partner violence and domestic violence in Czechia.
FIGURE 1Main findings
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Victims of intimate partner violence and domestic violence
- Most victims of intimate partner violence are women (90 % in 2023).
- Roughly 7 out of 10 victims of domestic violence are women (68 % in 2023).
- Physical violence is the most common form of intimate partner violence and domestic violence recorded by police.
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Femicide
- In 2023, women comprised 73 % of victims of intimate partner homicide (8 out of 11), and 50 % of victims of domestic homicide (11 out of 22).
- In the same year, women represented 41 % of victims of any homicide (31 out of 75).
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Rape
- In 2023, 89 % of victims of rape by any perpetrator were women (481 out of 539).
- In 2023, police recorded 132 women victims of rape committed by domestic perpetrators, and 52 women victims of rape by intimate partners.
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Protecting victims of domestic violence
- In 2022, 726 protection orders were granted to total victims of violence by a domestic perpetrator.
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Perpetrators reported and convicted for violence
- In 2023, 628 men were reported to police for intimate partner violence against women, and 754 for domestic violence against women.
- In 2022, 631 men were prosecuted for intimate partner violence against women, and 341 were sentenced for these types of crimes.
- In the same year, 773 men were prosecuted for domestic violence against women, while 411 were sentenced.
Women are disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence and domestic violence
EIGE’s police indicators mainly collect data on victims of intimate partner violence, domestic violence and violence in ‘any relationship’. EIGE defines a victim as ‘a natural person who has suffered harm, including physical, mental or emotional harm or economic loss which was directly caused by a criminal offence’.
Findings from EIGE’s latest data collection exercise show that intimate partner violence and domestic violence have the greatest impact on women. Women in Czechia comprise 90 % of intimate partner violence victims and 68 % of domestic violence victims recorded by police (based on data from 2023).
At the same time, women are less represented among victims of violence in a broader context. In 2023, 45 % of victims of violence in ‘any relationship’ recorded by police were women.
Figure 2 Proportion of female victims of intimate partner violence, domestic violence, and violence in any relationship (Indicator 1), 2023
Intimate partner violence
EIGE defines intimate partner violence as ‘any act of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occurs between former or current spouses or partners, whether or not the perpetrator shares or has shared the same residence with the victim’.
In Czechia, no legal definition of intimate partner violence exists. The data on intimate partner violence refers to violence between registered partners (male or female) spouses (including those in divorce proceedings), women and men in a common household, and ongoing violence between former partners, spouses.
Victims of intimate partner violence
In Czechia, women represent the majority of victims of intimate partner violence recorded by police (90 % in 2023). In 2023, police recorded 596 women victims of violence committed by an intimate partner. During the year, police recorded a greater number of offences of intimate partner violence against women victims (604).
Figure 3 Annual number of female and total victims of intimate partner violence (Indicator 1), 2019–2023
Between 2019 and 2023, the annual number of women victims of intimate partner violence recorded by police has decreased. This decrease may be attributed to various factors, such as the introduction of new laws and policies aiming to combat violence against women, improved access to support services for victims, as well as changes to data collection systems.
Findings from the EU survey on gender-based violence (EU-GBV) show that 34 % of ever-partnered women in Czechia have experienced psychological violence, physical violence (including threats), or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
Victims of specific forms of intimate partner violence
During EIGE’s 2023-2024 data collection exercise, national data providers in Czechia shared data on the annual number of victims of physical, psychological, sexual, and economic intimate partner violence recorded by police (Indicators 4-7).
Figure 4 Annual number of female and total victims of physical, psychological, sexual, and economic intimate partner violence (Indicators 4-7), 2019–2023
EIGE’s data shows that the police record a greater number of women victims of physical intimate partner violence than of psychological intimate partner violence each year. However, data from the EU-GBV survey reveal that experiences of psychological violence may be more common among women.
While 7.5 % of ever-partnered women in Czechia have experienced physical intimate partner violence (including threats) during their lifetime, 31 % have experienced psychological intimate partner violence. This discrepancy in administrative and survey data suggests that victims of psychological violence are less likely to report their experiences to the police than victims of physical violence. This could also suggest that individuals who suffer from psychological abuse might not fully realise that they are experiencing a form of violence that can be reported to the authorities
Domestic violence
EIGE defines domestic violence as ‘all acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occur within the family or domestic unit, irrespective of biological or legal family ties, or between former or current spouses or partners, whether or not the perpetrator shares or has shared the same residence as the victim’.
In 2024, the Czech government approved a bill that introduces a definition of domestic violence through amendments to the Civil Code. It defines domestic violence as acts against a victim ‘by which their mental or physical integrity, freedom, dignity, honour or privacy have been or may be unjustifiably affected; by which their ability to meet her needs or the needs of the members of the joint household was seriously threatened or impaired or acts that consists in the abuse of power or unequal status’. The definition covers both male and female victims of violence.
The data collected by EIGE was collected prior to the adoption of this draft law. EIGE’s data on domestic violence refers to violence that occurs between close people, including family members. Data on domestic violence does not include intimate partner violence, however it includes other relationships such as acquaintances.
Victims of domestic violence
According to the latest data, women represent most domestic violence victims in Czechia (68 %). In 2023, 806 women victims of domestic violence were recorded by police. It should be noted that the data below on victims of domestic violence does not include victims of intimate partner violence.
Figure 5 Annual number of female and total victims of domestic violence (Indicator 1), 2019–2023
The police data recorded in Czechia sheds light on the extent to which women suffer from domestic violence. In addition, the findings of the EU-GBV survey show that 15 % of women have experienced physical violence (including threats) or sexual violence by a domestic perpetrator during adulthood.
Victims of specific forms of domestic violence
As part of EIGE’s 2023-2024 data collection exercise, national data providers in Czechia shared data on the annual number of victims of physical, psychological, sexual, and economic domestic violence recorded by police (Indicators 4-7).
Figure 6 Annual number of female and total victims of physical, psychological, sexual, and economic domestic violence (Indicators 4-7), 2019–2023
Femicide: Number of women killed in recent years
EIGE defines femicide as ‘killing of women and girls because of their gender’. It is the most severe manifestation of gender-based violence. EIGE’s femicide classification framework distinguishes between killings committed by intimate partners and family members and other forms of femicide, which are less common.
There is no legal definition of femicide in Czechia. However, national level police data is available on female and total victims of intimate partner homicide, domestic homicide, and homicide in ‘any relationship’.
Women are disproportionately affected by intimate partner homicide
Women represent most victims of homicide committed by intimate partners (73 %), based on data from 2023 (8 out of 11). In 2023, women represented half of victims of domestic homicide recorded by police (11 out of 22), and 41 % of victims of any homicide (31 out of 75).
Figure 7 Proportion of female victims of intimate partner homicide, domestic homicide, and homicide in any relationship (Indicator 9), 2023
Number of women victims of homicide
In 2023, 31 women victims of homicide were recorded by police. In the same year, the police recorded 11 victims of domestic homicide, and 8 victims of intimate partner homicide.
Figure 8 Annual number of female victims of intimate partner homicide, domestic homicide, and homicide in any relationship (Indicator 9), 2019–2023
Rape: Number of women victims
EIGE defines rape as ‘sexual penetration, whether vaginal, anal or oral, through the use of object or body parts, without consent, using force, coercion or by taking advantage of the vulnerability of the victim’.
In Czechia, rape is criminalised under Section 185 of Chapter III of the Criminal Code. It refers to circumstances in which a person forces another person to have sexual intercourse by violence, by threat of violence or of other serious detriment, or by exploiting a person’s vulnerability for such an act. In 2024, the government approved an amendment to the Criminal Code to change the legal definition of rape from forcible to non-consensual sexual intercourse.
Women are the main victims that suffer from rape
In 2023, 52 women victims of intimate partner rape were recorded by police. Women represented all (100 %) intimate partner rape victims during the year. Similarly, women comprised 94 % of victims of domestic rape recorded by police in 2023 (132 out of 141). EIGE’s data also shows that women represent 89 % of victims of rape by any perpetrator recorded by police during the year (481 out of 539).
Figure 9 Proportion of female victims of intimate partner rape, domestic rape, and rape in any relationship (Indicator 8), 2023
In 2023, the police recorded an even a higher number of women victims of sexual domestic violence (see section ‘Victims of specific forms of domestic violence’). This is because sexual violence encompasses a wider range of offences, including rape and sexual assault.
Number of women victims of rape
In 2023, 481 female victims of rape were recorded by police. In the same year, the police recorded 132 women victims that were harmed by domestic perpetrators, and 52 that were harmed by intimate partners.
Figure 10 Annual number of female victims of intimate partner rape, domestic rape, and rape in any relationship (Indicator 8), 2019–2023
Protecting victims of domestic violence
Protection orders in the context of violence against women are defined as ‘a legal injunction that requires an offender to refrain from doing certain acts and to stay away from the victim’. Protection orders can be adopted under criminal or civil laws. They are fast legal remedies to protect the persons at risk of any form of violence by prohibiting or restraining certain behaviour by the perpetrator.
In 2022, 887 protection orders were granted to victims of violence, and 726 were granted specifically to victims of domestic violence.
This shows only a fraction of an under-reported phenomenon, as police recorded even more victims of domestic in the same year.
Figure 11 Annual number of protection orders granted to female and total victims of domestic violence and any violence (Indicator 10), 2014-2022
Perpetrators of intimate partner violence and domestic violence
Perpetrators are defined as ‘persons brought into formal contact with the police and suspected/arrested or cautioned for a criminal offence of IPV intimate partner violence’.
Most of EIGE’s indicators collect data on all perpetrators (including male and female perpetrators). However, the data for indicators 3 and 11–13 (on perpetrators reported, prosecuted, sentenced and held in prison) refers strictly to male perpetrators.
Perpetrators reported to police
In 2023, 628 men were reported to police for intimate partner violence against women. During the year, almost all perpetrators reported for intimate partner violence committed crimes against women (99 %, 628 out of 632).
Figure 12 Annual number of male perpetrators reported for intimate partner violence (Indicator 3), 2019-2023
EIGE’s findings also show that, in 2023, 76 % of men reported for domestic violence committed crimes against women (754 out of 994).
Figure 13 Annual number of male perpetrators reported for domestic violence (Indicator 3), 2019-2023
Perpetrators prosecuted
In 2022, 631 men were prosecuted for intimate partner violence against women, while 773 men were prosecuted for domestic violence against women.
Figure 14 Annual number of male perpetrators prosecuted for intimate partner violence and domestic violence against women (Indicator 11), 2014-2022
Perpetrators sentenced
In 2022, 341 men were sentenced for intimate partner violence against women, while 411 men were sentenced for domestic violence against women.
Figure 15 Annual number of male perpetrators sentenced for intimate partner violence and domestic violence against women (Indicator 12), 2014-2022
Findings from the justice sector show that, between 2021 and 2022, there was an increase in the number of men prosecuted and sentenced for intimate partner violence and domestic violence against women. This increase may be attributed to various factors, such as legislative, judicial reforms ensuring the conviction of perpetrators, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, there was a change in the methodology of data collection and reporting in 2022, meaning data for this year is not fully comparable with previous years.
Perpetrators held in prison
In 2023, there were 268 criminal offences involving domestic violence that resulted in the imprisonment of male perpetrators.
Figure 16 Number of criminal offences involving domestic violence that resulted in the imprisonment of male perpetrators, on December 31st of each year (Indicator 13), 2015-2023
Summary of data availability and next steps
Findings from EIGE’s 2023-2024 data collection exercise in Czechia underscore the persistent threat of domestic violence to the safety and well-being of women and girls.
The collection of robust administrative data on intimate partner violence and domestic violence is essential to ensure effective policymaking, resource allocation, and the development of targeted interventions to support victims and prevent further violence.
EIGE’s research shows that, in Czechia, police data is widely available on victims, offences and perpetrators of intimate partner violence and domestic violence. EIGE also managed to retrieve data on victims of specific forms of violence, including physical, psychological, sexual, and economic violence.
Data is also widely available on the annual number of female and total victims of homicide committed by intimate partners, domestic perpetrators, and any perpetrator.
Similarly, data has been shared on the annual number of female and total victims of rape by intimate partners, domestic perpetrators, and any perpetrators (2019-2023).
Justice sector data is more limited in Czechia. Data is available on protection orders granted to total victims of domestic violence and violence by any perpetrator, but not on protection order applications or protection orders granted specifically to female victims. Moreover, no data has been shared on protection orders (applied or granted) for victims of intimate partner violence.
Data providers in Czechia have shared data on male perpetrators reported, prosecuted and sentenced for intimate partner violence and domestic violence against women. However, data on perpetrators held in prison is more limited, as it refers instead to criminal offences resulting in imprisonment. This makes it challenging to explore the extent to which men are brought to justice for violence against women.
In May 2024, the EU adopted Directive (EU) 2024/1385 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on combating violence against women and domestic violence. Article 44 establishes that Member States must work with EIGE to collect administrative data on these forms of violence and must adhere to common standards. EIGE remains committed to supporting Member States in their efforts to collect comprehensive, reliable data on violence against women and domestic violence.
Further details on the data collected during EIGE’s 2023–2024 data collection exercise are available in EIGE’s Gender Statistics Database and on its website.
Annexes
Annex 1: List of EIGE’s 13 indicators on intimate partner violence and domestic violence