WUNRN
Press
Release - Women against Violence Europe (WAVE)
WAVE Country Report 2013: WAVE urges European countries to
do more to meet the Council of
Violence against women continues to be a
significant problem throughout
On 5 March 2014, the European Union Agency
for Fundamental Rights launched the results of the first EU-wide survey on
Violence against Women. The survey is based on 42,000 face-to-face interviews
with trained female interviewers with women aged 18-74 in the 28 EU member
states. Key findings show that one-in-three
women has experienced some form of physical and/or sexual assault since the age
of 15; one-in-10 women has
experienced some form of sexual violence since the age of 15, and one-in-20 women has been raped since
the age of 15. The survey also shows a significant percentage of intimate
partner violence: 22% of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence
by a partner, and 43 % have experienced some form of psychological violence by
a current or former partner. Some 5% of
women have experienced economic violence in their current relationship, and 13%
of women have experienced some form of economic violence in past relationships.
The findings show disparities in prevalence of violence among the 28 EU member
states, however, this may be due to different levels of gender equality and
cultural acceptability towards disclosure of experiences of violence.
The survey also
measured women’s experience with reaching out for help to support
organizations. The survey showed that on the EU level:
- Only 6% of women
contacted a women’s shelter, only 4% contacted a victim support organization, but on the other hand, one-third of women contacted
a doctor, a health center or a hospital.
- 36% of women are not aware of specific laws or
political initiatives for preventing domestic violence against women and 28% of
women are not aware of laws or initiatives for protecting women in cases of
domestic violence against women.
- Almost one-in-five
women in the EU (19%) was not aware of any of the support services for victims
of violence against women that were listed
in the questionnaire.
- Reporting rates to the police and other services are
low: 67% of women did not report the most serious incident of partner violence
to the police or other organization.
On the basis of this survey, FRA expresses a series of
opinions and recommendations including, for example, the need to enhance
resources for specialist victim support services and awareness of violence
against women.[1][1] The results of the survey show the high
prevalence of violence against women that occurs throughout
The
WAVE Country Report
2013[2][2]
brings the experiences of women survivors of violence together with measuring
the available services for women survivors of violence in 46 European
countries. The report provides stories from women survivors, who have shared
their information about their experiences of violence and seeking help. The
mapping of women's services in
· A nationwide
women’s helpline is available in 31 out
of 46 European countries
o
Only 17, however, operate 24/7 and free of
charge
o
As a
result, only 37% of the 46 countries meet the Council of Europe Taskforce
Recommendation of providing a national women’s helpline 24/7 and free of charge
· 19 of the 28 EU member states have a national women’s
helpline (68% of the EU)
o
Only 9 countries operate 24/7 and free of
charge
(
o
As a
result, only 32% of the 28 EU countries meet the Council of Europe Taskforce
Recommendations of providing a national women’s helpline 24/7 and free of
charge
· In the 46 European countries, there are 1,731
women’s shelters and/or shelter providers offering 28,124 shelter places to
women and children survivors of violence. According to the minimum standard of one shelter place per 10,000
inhabitants, 82,892 shelter places are needed. An estimated 55,242 places are missing (67% of
recommended places).
o
Only
three countries (
· In the 28 EU countries, there are 1,440
women’s shelters with an estimated total of 23,506 shelter places available. In order to meet the Council of Europe Taskforce
Recommendations, an estimated number of 50,326 shelter
places are needed. 26,820 places are
still missing.
o
Based on findings
from the WAVE Country Report 2013, WAVE urgently calls upon the European
countries to invest in more shelter places and ensure that national women’s
helplines operate both 24/7 and free of charge.
We kindly ask that for those who further disseminate
this information,
please
include the list of national helplines and phone numbers in
The full version of
the WAVE Country Report 2013 is available online:
http://www.wave-network.org/content/wave-country-report-2013-now-online
The full version of
the FRA survey’s results can be downloaded from the FRA website: http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra-2014-vaw-survey-at-a-glance_en_0.pdf
For more
information and inquiries, please contact office@wave-network.org, Maria Rösslhumer maria.roesslhumer@aoef.at (+43 664 793 07 89), Barbara
Stelmaszek barbara.stelmaszek@wave-network.org