The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) launched the first EU-wide research on Administrative Data Sources on gender-based violence.
Collection of comparable, sex-disaggregated data is necessary to measure the effectiveness of our efforts for ending gender-based violence. Gender-based violence against women is still a hidden crime across the EU. The absence of reliable data and information on the prevalence of violence impedes the progress of combating violence against women. Urgent action is needed by governments to address this deficit, says Therese Murphy from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).
EIGE’s study, that maps and assesses administrative data sources in EU-28 in terms of their quality and comparability and identified steps necessary to gather comparable data on GBV across the EU-28, shows that measuring gender-based violence is seriously hampered by data gaps.
Administrative data can provide detailed information on how judicial, police, health and social protection services respond (or do not respond) to the demands of victims of GBV. The response may be assistance in seeking justice, obtaining medical care, counselling, housing or other support; as well as how they deal with and respond to perpetrators, dependents, and witnesses. In this sense, administrative data sources reflect only what is recorded by an agency interacting with a victim or perpetrator of gender-based violence. The availability of this data in all Member States makes administrative data providers a valuable source of information to be assessed for collecting comparable data on GBV. All consulted experts highlighted that comparable and harmonised data and effective and structured coordination between the actors involved in data collection are crucial for measuring and monitoring the initiatives to combat gender-based violence.
To free Europe from gender based violence, data collection has to be improved. EIGE’s study and tools to consult and explore the potential use of almost 150 main administrative sources and 100 statistical products containing administrative data on GBV at EU-level, help make the change possible.
Statistical products on GBV in the EU-28 Member States
