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Facts & Figures
Facts and figures on violence against women
I: Male domestic violence
A woman is raped, stabbed or beaten every 6 seconds.- Preston Women’s Refuge, 2003
Various statistics show that a woman is more likely to be attacked and beaten, even killed, by her partner or former partner than by any other person. Depending on the European country concerned, from 20% to more than 50% of women are victims of domestic violence.
- Report on Violence against Women, Council of Europe, March 2000
At least 1 in 5 women in the EU experience violence by their intimate male partner. 95% of all acts of violence take place within the home.
- Unveiling the Hidden Data on Domestic Violence in the EU, European Women's Lobby, 1999
In France, it is estimated that about 70,000 teenage girls from 10 to 18 years old are potentially threatened by forced marriages within their community.
- GAMS, research in 7 regions of France
6 women die every month in France as a result of domestic violence.
- Interview with French minister for equality and Parity, Nicole Ameline, “Violence envers les femmes, il faut lutter ensemble”, in: le Bulletin de la Commission Femmes, Amnesty International, n. 07.03.2003 (cited in : Irish report on Violence against women, EWL 2004)
2 women in the United Kingdom die every week at the hands of partners or ex-partners.
Womankind Newsletter, Spring/Summer 2003 (Cited in: Irish report on Violence against women, EWL 2004)
Women ages 15 to 44 lose more Discounted Health Years of Life (DHYLs) to rape and domestic violence than to breast cancer, cervical cancer, obstructed labour, heart disease, AIDS, respiratory infections, motor vehicle accidents or war.
World Bank, World Development Report 1993, cited at
www.unfpa.org/intercenter/violence/intro.htm
For European women aged 16-44, violence in the home is the primary cause of injury and death, more lethal than road accidents and cancer.
Between 25% and 50% of women are victims of this violence.
In Portugal 52.8% of women say that they have been violently treated by their husbands or partners.
In Germany almost 300 women a year - or three women every four days - are killed by men with whom they used to live.
In Britain one woman dies in similar circumstances every three days.
In Spain it is one every four days.
In France six women die this way every month: 33% of them are knifed, 33% shot, 20% strangled and 10% beaten.
- Ignacio Ramonet, Le Monde Diplomatique, July 2004
II: Sexual violence
One woman in five is subjected to sexual assault at some stage and, unfortunately, the age of the victims varies from two months to 90 years. The figures tell of increasing numbers of assault against very young girls. 98% of aggressors are male, and 50% are married or living in a de facto marriage or as a couple. Furthermore, 70% of rapes are premeditated and only 3% of aggressors are mentally unbalanced. One might also note the growing phenomenon of multiple rape.- Report on Violence against Women, Council of Europe, March 2000
8.9% of French women experience rape or attempted rape, 2.8% before the age of 18.
- National Survey 2000
14.5% of women in Germany have suffered sexual violence at the hands of a friend or relative.
- EWL Study, 1999
10% of Hungarian women reported rape within domestic violence.
- “Representative study of violence in the family”, Olga Toth; 1999, cited in “Rape the Forgotten Issue?” A European research and Network Project, Liz Kelly, Linda Reagan, Daphne Project: JA1.1999/DAP/161/WC (cited in: Irish report on Violence against women EWL 2004)
Women with experience of threats and women with experience of sexual violence show the highest reporting rates for contemplated and attempted suicide.
- “Captured Queen: Men’s Violence against Women in “Equal” Sweden – A prevalence study”, Eva Lundgren, Gun Heimer, Jenny Westerstrand, Anne-Marie Kalliokoski, Uppsala University, Brottsoffermyndigheten (Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority) 2001 (cited in: Irish report on Violence against women, EWL 2004)
Female Genital Mutilation is performed amongst immigrant communities in Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom
- UN 2002
III: Sex industry: Prostitution, trafficking and pornography
Approximately 500,000 women are annually trafficked into Western Europe.-International Organisation for Migration, Michael Specter, "Traffickers’ New Cargo: Naive Slavic Women," New York Times, 11 January 1998
[…] some [prostitutes] are beaten, tortured or even killed if they do not bring back their earnings and reimburse their debt. Some women have even been sent to "training camps" in Italy, where they must accept 50-60 clients per day. Finally, pressure may also be exerted with regard to the young woman's family.
- Report on Violence against Women, Council of Europe, March 2000
Data provided by the British Medical Journal on the experience of client violence by prostitutes working indoors or outdoors indicates that 93% had an experience of client violence; 58% had experienced violence in the past six months.
- British Medical Journal: Do you want the latest evidence? “Personal characteristics, drug use, and experience of client violence by prostitutes working indoors or outdoors”, downloaded on 17/2/2003 (cited in: Irish report on Violence against women, EWL 2004)
Some 200 million people are online worldwide, and studies place pornography at between 20 and 30 per cent of all Internet traffic. 70 per cent of Internet pornography traffic occurs during the 9-5 working day.
- “Millions of men log on to adult sex sites every day…” Decca Aitkenhead; Article in The Observer; UK; 30/3/2003 (Cited in: Irish report on Violence against women, EWL 2004)
Violence against women is a major contributing factor in preventing women’s equality and equal rights. For women to achieve equality in employment, health, education and many other areas, it is vital that women feel safe and not threatened by or subjected to violence.
The Vagina Monologues is about celebrating the female body and female sexuality. The celebration of women and their bodies as an approach to raise awareness and to moblise and find new allies has proven hugely successful. V-Day raises awareness and funds for local service providers to continue the campaign against violence against women.
With the support of the