• Intimate partner violence and witness intervention: what are the deciding factors?

    The EU has long recognised that violence against women is a violation of human rights and a form of gender-based discrimination that has a major negative impact on victims and significant costs for society. Women are most likely to face violence at the hands of someone they know, with one in five having experienced violence at the hands of an...

  • Gender Equality Index 2020: Can we wait 60 more years?

    With a score of 67.9 out of 100, the EU is at least 60 years away from reaching complete gender equality, if we continue at the current pace. The latest Gender Equality Index from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) shows that the EU is improving by just half a point each year.

    EIGE Gender Equality Index 2020
  • Intimate partner violence: data collection methodology

    One of the areas of focus in EIGE's Gender Statistics Database is gender-based violence. The most widespread form of gender-based violence is intimate partner violence. Comparable data on intimate partner violence are of paramount importance in understanding and monitoring the nature and scale of the issue, itself a barrier to achieving gender equality. However, availability of comparable data across the...

  • Gender and Security

    The complex and evolving security threats the EU is facing, such as organised crime, terrorism, cyberviolence and hybrid threats, have placed security high on the political agenda of both the previous Commission (2014–2019) and the current Commission (2019–2024). Women and men, and girls and boys experience conflict, insecurity and threats differently and the impact of security policies is not equal...

  • Risk estimations

    Accurate estimations of the number of girls at risk are required to effectively tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). EIGE estimates the number of girls at risk in different EU countries and provides tailor-made recommendations to help countries eradicate the practice. Estimation of girls at risk of female genital mutilation in the European Union - Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg and Spain This...

  • Gender Equality Index 2020: work in a digital world

    It is time to start the countdown for the Gender Equality Index 2020. Has the EU gone forward or backward when it comes to gender equality? Which country will win the award for the most improved? Find out on 29 October when EIGE gives its annual update on the state of gender equality in the EU. This year, the Gender...

    EIGE's Gender Equality Index 2020
  • The EU is inching towards comparable data on intimate partner violence

    Spikes in domestic violence reports during Covid-19 lockdowns have been a sad reminder that, across the world, women frequently face the most danger from people they know. Yet when it comes to intimate partner violence, each EU Member State collects data in a different way.

    Woman forensic analyst
  • Covid-19 and gender-based violence: Has the pandemic taught us anything?

    Lockdowns to prevent the spread of Covid-19 trapped many women at home with abusers. Several countries saw spikes in domestic violence reports. As lockdowns ease, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) is taking a closer look at how we can protect women in times of crisis – be it a pandemic, natural disaster or economic recession. Domestic violence happens...

  • Beijing +25 policy brief: Area D - Violence against women: response and eradication

    All EU Member States have criminalised some forms of violence against womenand, together with the EU institutions, have worked to strengthen legal frameworks and better determine the scale of the phenomenon. At EU level, gender-based violence is a policy priority, as reflected in the strategy for equality between women and men (2010-2015) and in the follow-up strategic engagement for gender...

  • Risk assessment: protecting women from lethal violence

    More than one woman was killed every day by an intimate partner or family member in the EU on average in 2016 [1]. To help police prevent repeated acts of intimate partner violence and save lives, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has developed a risk assessment guide for police. “With proper training, and allocation of resources where they...

  • Risk assessment and management of intimate partner violence in the EU

    Police officers play a leading role in reducing violence against women by an intimate partner. They are often the first authority victims turn to for protection, especially in countries where police are trusted. Risk assessment and risk management strategies are two vital steps that ensure the immediate safety of victims and prevent further violence. EIGE’s guidelines and recommendations offer a...