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Subject: In connection with the launch of the EU-wide research on Administrative Data Sources on gender-based violence, 19-20 March, Vilnius, Lithuania
Combating gender-based violence seriously hampered by data gaps
Experts on data collection from EU-28, gathered in Vilnius for a consultation meeting on gender-based violence (GBV), calling on policy makers to assure the collection of harmonised and comparable data on GBV in the EU-28. "Collection of comparable, sex-disaggregated data is necessary to measure the effectiveness of our efforts for ending gender-based violence. Gender-based violence against women is still a hidden crime across the EU. The absence of reliable data and information on the prevalence of violence impedes the progress of combating violence against women. Urgent action is needed by governments to address this deficit”, says Therese Murphy from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), organiser of the meeting.
The results of the first EU study on mapping the current situation and potential of administrative data sources on GBV, conducted by EIGE, show that measuring gender-based violence is seriously hampered by data gaps. There are no comparable sex-disaggregated data in this area at EU level. EIGE’s study has mapped and assessed administrative data sources in EU-28 in terms of their quality and comparability and identified steps necessary to gather comparable data on GBV across the EU-28. All consulted experts highlighted that comparable and harmonised data and effective and structured coordination between the actors involved in data collection are crucial for measuring and monitoring the initiatives to combat gender-based violence.
25,000 shelters are missing
EIGE’s report “Violence against Women. Victim Support” has also revealed that specialised services such as shelters, counselling services or hotlines are unequally distributed in and among EU Member States and that many of them face capacity problems and funding issues. According to EIGE’s report, over 25,000 shelter places are missing in the EU.
Call for change
EU institutions are committed to making the EU free from violence for all. To achieve it, data collection on gender-based violence in Europe has to be improved. We hope that EIGE’s new study and the new tools developed by EIGE will support making the change. It is a mapping tool to consult and explore the potential use of almost 150 main administrative sources and 100 statistical products containing administrative data on GBV at EU-level.