8. Domain of violence

The domain of violence provides a set of indicators that can help the EU and its Member States to monitor the extent of the most common and documented forms of violence against women. Unlike other domains, the domain of violence does not measure differences between women and men, but examines and analyses women’s experiences of violence. The main objective is to eliminate violence against women, not to reduce gaps.

A three-tier structure of measurement was defined to provide the most complete and reliable picture of violence against women in the EU.

  1. A composite measure combining indicators on the extent of violence against women. The composite measure does not affect the final score of the Gender Equality Index. However, violence against women must be considered alongside other domains as it mirrors enduring inequalities in the fields of work, health, money, power, knowledge and time. In 2017, the EU had a score of 27.5 (EIGE, 2017b). A high score in the Gender Equality Index means that a country is close to achieving a gender-equal society. However, in the domain of violence, the higher the score, the more serious the phenomenon of violence against women in the country is. On a scale of 1 to 100, 1 represents a situation where violence is non-existent and 100 represents a situation where violence against women is extremely common, highly severe and not disclosed. The best-performing country is therefore the one with the lowest score. The calculation of the scores of the composite measure relied on data findings of a 2014 survey by FRA (FRA, 2014c). Until the completion of the next EU-wide survey on violence against women led by Eurostat[1] , scores for this domain cannot be updated.
  2. Additional indicators covering a broader range of forms of violence against women described in the Istanbul Convention (Council of Europe, 2011). These indicators might be included in the calculation of the single score if more reliable and comparable data becomes available. This includes EIGE’s indicators on administrative data.
  3. Contextual factors include some of the root causes of violence against women. This set of indicators enables analysis of the extent of violence against women over time and across Member States. Defined to monitor the compliance of the Member States regarding the obligations set out in the Istanbul Convention, they cover six dimensions: policies; prevention; protection and support; substantive legislation; involvement of law enforcement agencies; and societal framework.