This report examines cyber violence affecting girls and adolescents in the European Union, analysing its prevalence, underlying drivers and consequences and reviewing the effectiveness of existing policy and legal responses. It is based on a mixed-methods research design that combines legal and policy analysis, statistical evidence and participatory insights from adolescents across 10 EU Member States, providing a comprehensive understanding...
This study is one of EIGE’s several initiatives to improve the current situation of administrative data collection on violence against women in the EU. This report provides the results of EIGE’s second data collection exercise, which ran between 2023 and 2024, covers the period 2014-2022 and analyses the current state of data collection in the police and justice sectors on...
Violence against women – as shown by the results of the European Union gender-based violence (EU-GBV) survey conducted by Eurostat, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) – is widespread and takes many forms. The results presented in this report represent the experiences of women in the 27 Member States with...
The Gender Equality Index is a composite indicator that was developed to measure the relative position of women and men across the EU. It enables comparisons between EU Member States and tracks progress in gender equality over time. The Index was first released in 2013, followed by reviews in 2017 and 2025. As policy priorities shift, societies evolve and data...
Despite progress across Europe, full gender equality remains at least 50 years away, according to EIGE’s 2025 Gender Equality Index which introduces new indicators and a renewed pace of change. The revised Index for 2025 opens a new chapter, setting a new baseline for gender equality that is no longer comparable with the previous Index scores. With a refreshed structure...
The Communications Lab (Comms Lab) is EIGE’s approach to advancing gender equality through effective communication. The Lab helps us to respond to a rapidly evolving communication landscape — one marked by both progress and backlash, including anti-gender disinformation. Between 2023 and 2025, the Comms Lab tackled one of the most urgent challenges in gender equality: how to communicate effectively about...
Migration to the European Union (EU) has increased significantly in recent years, driven by conflict, climate change and geopolitical instability. While global data is limited, available evidence indicates that these crises disproportionately impact women and girls, increasing their exposure to gender-based violence (GBV). Migrants – particularly those who are forcibly displaced or undocumented or face intersecting forms of discrimination –...
The European Protection Order (EPO) is a legal instrument that helps ensure that victims of gender-based and other forms of violence who are protected by national protection measures in one EU Member State remain protected if they decide to travel or move to another Member State. The EPO is designed to protect a person against a criminal act that may...
EIGE’s research on femicide has focused on the definition and measurement of femicide as a specific crime, due to the gendered nature of the killings and dynamics of power imbalance between women and men. EIGE supports Member States in collecting administrative data on femicides within the context of intimate-partner relationships, domestic relationships or any relationships. This policy brief presents the...
The EU is navigating profound global and internal challenges that require coordinated, forward-thinking solutions. Gender equality emerges as a critical enabler of EU success in addressing these challenges and achieving its objectives in uncertain times. The Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), established at the fourth UN World Conference on Women in 1995, remains more relevant than ever. It serves as...
Systemic discrimination, unbalanced power relations, harmful norms and stereotypes fuel the perpetration of gender-based violence (GBV). In the face of one of the most widespread human rights violations worldwide, women and girls remain the most exposed. Addressing GBV and ensuring support and protection for victims require adopting adequate policies and measures, and monitoring and assessing their effective implementation. Accurate and...
The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has developed 13 indicators on intimate partner violence and domestic violence to guide the data collection efforts of the police and the justice sector. EIGE’s indicators support EU Member States to measure intimate partner violence and domestic violence and to assess the progress made to combat and monitor these forms of violence. Between...
