anales de psicología / annals o psychology
2020, ol. 36, nº 3 (oc obe ), 380-385
h ps://doi.o g/10.6018/analesps.436281
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Epidemiological analysis o gende iolence in he Eu opean Union
Ma ía Paz Be múdez, and Mon se a Meléndez-Domínguez
Cen o de In es igación Men e, Ce eb o y Compo amien o (CIMCYC)
Uni e sidad de G anada (Spain)
Tí ulo: Análisis epidemiológico de la iolencia de géne o en la Unión Eu-
opea.
Resumen: Exis e una g an he e ogeneidad egional y desconocimien o de
la si uación ac ual de la iolencia de géne o (VdG) en los di e en es países
de la Unión Eu opea (UE-28). El obje i o del p esen e abajo es de e mi-
na la p e alencia ac ual de la VdG y de eminicidios en la UE-28 y en pa -
icula en España. Consis e en un es udio desc ip i o obse acional (análi-
sis de documen os) seleccionando y analizando da os de las di e en es mo-
dalidades de la VdG y de eminicidios en los 28 países de la UE. Le onia,
Dinama ca, Reino Unido, Suecia, Bélgica, Finlandia, Eslo aquia y Luxem-
bu go ienen asas más al as que la media de la UE en odos los ipos de
VdG y Finlandia, Hung ía, I landa del No e y Le onia poseen las inciden-
cias más al as en eminicidios. Con espec o a España, el 0.13% de las mu-
je es ue on íc imas de VdG y se p oducen 2.3 eminicidios anuales po
cada 1.000.000 muje es, si uándose España en e los países con asas más
bajas. Se concluye que el mal a o psicológico es el más p e alen e en la
UE-28, sin emba go, exis e una di icul ad pa a la compa ación de da os de
los di e en es países debido a la inexis encia de una concep ualización legal
común de la VdG.
Palab as cla e: Violencia de géne o; Unión Eu opea; Epidemiología; e-
minicidio.
Abs ac : The e is a g ea egional he e ogenei y and igno ance o he cu -
en gende iolence (GV) si ua ion in he di e en coun ies o he Eu o-
pean Union (EU-28). The aim o his pape is o de e mine he cu en
p e alence o GV and emicides in he EU-28 and in Spain in pa icula .
This s udy consis s o an obse a ional desc ip i e s udy (documen analy-
sis) which selec s and analyses da a belonging o he di e en modali ies o
GV and emicides in he EU-28 coun ies. La ia, Denma k, Uni ed King-
dom, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Slo akia and Luxembou g possess highe
a es han he EU a e age in all ypes o GV while Finland, Hunga y,
No he n I eland and La ia possess highe incidences a es in emicide.
Wi h espec o Spain, 0.13% o women we e ic ims o GV and 2.3 emi-
cides pe yea occu o e e y 1.000.000 women, wi h Spain being among
he coun ies wi h he lowes a es. I is he e o e concluded ha psycho-
logical abuse is he mos p e alen wi hin he EU-28, howe e , i is di i-
cul o compa e said da a om di e en coun ies due o he lack o a
common legal concep ualisa ion o GV.
Keywo ds: Gende -based iolence; Eu opean Union; Epidemiology; Fem-
icide.
In oduc ion
Violence agains women is conside ed a uni e sal, complex
and mul idimensional phenomenon ha a ec s all social
classes (Menéndez, Pé ez, & Lo ence, 2013). Al hough he e
is a widesp ead men ali y o ejec ing he jus i ica ions o
iolence h oughou he wo ld (Pie o i, 2013), i is s ill a ma-
jo p oblem. Wi h ega d o he exis ence o physical and/o
sexual iolence owa ds women by hei pa ne , a global
p e alence o 30% is collec ed (Wo ld Heal h O ganiza ion
[WHO], 2013). Based on da a om he Uni ed Na ions (UN)
collec ed in 2015 on he p e alence o physical iolence
agains women by hei pa ne , he a e ages we e p epa ed
by egion (see Table 1).
Table 1. P e alence o physical iolence agains women by hei pa ne
wo ldwide.
Yea (%)
Region
2014
Range
A e age
Oceania
7.6-61.1
37.6
Asia
4.5-64.6
22.5
A ica
5.6-56.9
32.7
Eu ope
3.6-39.7
19.7
Ame ica
7-61
28.2
No e. UN (2015)
* Co espondence add ess [Di ección pa a co espondencia]:
Ma ía Paz Be múdez. Cen o de In es igación Men e, Ce eb o y Compo -
amien o (CIMCYC). C/ Campus de la Ca uja S/N, 18011, G anada
(Spain). E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
(A icle ecei ed: 19-05-2020; e ised: 27-05-2020; accep ed: 20-06-2020)
Femicide is he mos ex eme exp ession o gende io-
lence (GV). The In e na ional Cou o C imes agains
Women i s p oposed he e m in 1976 o de ine he in en-
ional killing o a woman by a man on accoun o being a
woman (Vi es-Cases e al., 2016). In 2017, he e we e 87,000
in en ional homicides o women, 58% o hem we e ca ied
ou wi hin he amily and 34% we e commi ed by hei
pa ne (Uni ed Na ions O ice on D ugs and C ime
[UNODC], 2018). The egion wi h he highes pe cen age o
emicides in ela ion o he homicides o women ha oc-
cu ed in 2017 was Oceania (42%), ollowed by A ica (38%)
and Ame ica (35%). Asia (31%) and Eu ope (29%) we e be-
low he global a e age. The da a show a homogeneous dis-
ibu ion in ela ion o he p e alence o cases o physical i-
olence de e mined by he UN in 2015.
The in e es in he p e en ion o iolence and gende
equali y is common in all he coun ies o he Eu opean Un-
ion (EU-28), so in 2006 he Eu opean Ins i u e o Gende
Equali y, EIGE (Eu opean Pa liamen , 2017) was c ea ed, in
cha ge o he collec ion, analysis and dissemina ion o in-
o ma ion on equali y and GV. In 2011, he Council o Eu-
ope Con en ion on he p e en ion and igh agains io-
lence agains women and domes ic iolence, known as he
Is anbul Con en ion (Council o Eu ope, 2011) was es ab-
lished. A icle 3 se s ou he de ini ion o GV and domes ic
iolence ha mus be included by all he coun ies ha a i y
he Con en ion. Thus, iolence agains women should be
unde s ood as:
Epidemiological analysis o gende iolence in he Eu opean Union 381
anales de psicología / annals o psychology, 2020, ol. 36, nº 3 (oc obe )
Viola ion o human igh s and a o m o disc imina ion
agains women, and shall designa e all ac s o iolence
based on gende ha imply o may imply o women
damages o su e ings o a physical, sexual, psychological
o economic na u e, including h ea s o pe o ming such
ac s, coe cion o a bi a y dep i a ion o eedom, in
public o p i a e li e. (Council o Eu ope, 2011, A ., 3a)
Likewise, domes ic iolence will be unde s ood as any ac
o abuse ha occu s in he amily o in he home, ega dless
o whe he he pe pe a o sha es o has sha ed he same
domicile as he ic im (Council o Eu ope, 2011, A ., 3b).
A icle 11 se s ou he need o collec eliable and egula
da a on GV aking in o accoun all he speci ica ions con-
ained in he documen . Howe e , despi e he exis ence o a
conclusi e legal basis, he e is a clea lack o knowledge
abou he eal si ua ion o GV in he di e en coun ies o
he EU-28.
In Spain, o example, he e a e mul iple o ganiza ions
ha collec igu es on GV. The Na ional S a is ics Ins i u e
(INE) eco ded 31,286 ic ims o GV in 2018 (INE, 2019).
Wi h espec o a ali ies, om 2003 o 2019 mo e han 1,033
ic ims we e coun ed (Go e nmen Delega ion agains Gen-
de Violence, 2020). These da a a ec socie y's conce n
abou he p oblem, e lec ing in he ba ome e ca ied ou by
he Cen e o Sociological Resea ch (CFSR) in No embe
2019, in which 5.7% o esponden s a ed GV among he
coun y’s h ee main p oblems (CFSR, 2019).
The objec i e o his pape is o analyse he cu en p e -
alence o GV and he incidence o emicides in he EU-28
and in de ail in Spain.
Me hod
Da a Bank
In o de o collec GV p e alence da a in he EU-28
Membe S a es, he da a accumula ed by he Eu opean Un-
ion Fundamen al Righ s Agency, FRA (2014) and he Eu o-
pean S a is ics O ice (Eu os a ) we e used as he uni o
analysis o his s udy, wi h da a upda ed in 2019 (Eu os a ,
2019). Nex , o ha e a mo e de ailed analysis o Spain, popu-
la ion da a (INE, 2020) and GV igu es om he INE (2019)
and he Go e nmen Delega ion agains Gende Violence
(2020) we e collec ed.
Va iable coding
Wi h ega d o he design, i is in he o m o an obse a-
ional desc ip i e s udy (analysis o documen s and s a is ics)
acco ding o he classi ica ion o Mon e o and Leon (2007)
in o de o analyse he a iables ob ained om he di e en
da abases consul ed.
Fi s ly, he sea ch o upda ed epidemiological da a on
GV in he EU-28 was ca ied ou in he elec onic eco ds o
he FRA, Eu os a and EIGE. The igu es on he di e en
ypes o GV we e ex ac ed om he s udy ca ied ou by
he FRA in 2012 (published in 2014) in which 42,000 women
om he 28 EU Membe S a es we e in e iewed. In he
FRA da abase, in o de o collec he app op ia e in o -
ma ion o he s udy, si ua ions ela ed o physical, sexual,
psychological and economic iolence by a pa ne om 15
yea s o age we e il e ed (FRA, 2014).
The igu es o in en ional homicides o women a he
hands o hei pa ne we e collec ed om Eu os a (2019).
Femicide a es in he di e en coun ies o he EU-28 we e
calcula ed wi h he numbe o homicides (Eu os a , 2019)
and he popula ion da a o women in each coun y collec ed
by Eu os a (2020). Annual incidence was calcula ed as he
numbe o cases in ha yea pe 1,000,000 women.
Speci ying he si ua ion in Spain, he p e alence a es
we e calcula ed aking in o accoun he o al numbe o GV
cases in he coun y commi ed in 2018 and published by he
INE (2019) and he popula ion census (INE, 2020). F om
hese gene al da a, a di e en ia ion was made by age b ack-
e s, calcula ing he pe cen age o emale ic ims o GV in
Spain o e e y 1,000,000 women.
The incidence o emicides o e e y 1,000,000 women in
Spain was ob ained om he da a o women mu de ed by
hei pa ne (Go e nmen Delega ion agains Gende Vio-
lence, 2020) and he popula ion census o women in ha
same yea (INE, 2020).
Resul s
The pe cen age o GV cases in he di e en EU-28 Membe
S a es can be seen in Table 2. O he 42,000 women su -
eyed who answe ed ques ions ela ed o GV su e ed since
he age o 15, 40,192 had had a pa ne a some poin o
hei li e. Conside ing he p e alence pe cen ages and he
EU-28 a e age, 8 coun ies ha e a highe han a e age
p e alence in all ypes o iolence: La ia, Denma k, he
Uni ed Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Slo akia and
Luxembou g; and 9 coun ies ha e lowe han a e age a es:
Spain, Aus ia, C oa ia, Slo enia, Mal a, I eland, Cyp us,
G eece and Po ugal. The coun y wi h he highes pe cen -
age o women who had su e ed physical iolence a some
poin in hei li es om hei pa ne was La ia (31%), ol-
lowed by Denma k (29%), he Uni ed Kingdom (28%) and
Finland (27%) while hose wi h he lowes pe cen ages o
ic ims o his ype o iolence we e Spain, Aus ia, C oa ia,
Slo enia and Poland (all o hem wi h 12%). The ype o io-
lence wi h he lowes a e age pe cen age is sexual (7%), wi h
Denma k, he Ne he lands and Finland p esen ing he high-
es p e alence o his ype o iolence (11%). Psychological
iolence is he ype o iolence wi h he highes pe cen ages
(43%), wi h 15 coun ies abo e he a e age, wi h Denma k
and La ia eaching 60% o women ic ims o psychological
iolence. Rega ding economic iolence, all coun ies a e
a ound he a e age (12%) wi h he highes p e alence in
Bulga ia (17%) and he lowes in Po ugal (8%).
382 Ma ía Paz Be múdez and Mon se a Meléndez-Domínguez
anales de psicología / annals o psychology, 2020, ol. 36, nº 3 (oc obe )
Table 2. Eu opean p e alence o he di e en ypes o GV.
Type o iolence (%)
Physical
Sexual
Psychological
Economic
Coun y
Aus ia
12
6
38
11
Belgium
22
9
44
14
Bulga ia
22
9
39
17
Cyp us
14
4
39
10
La ia
31
9
60
15
Denma k
29
11
60
14
UK
28
10
46
14
Finland
27
11
53
14
F ance
25
9
47
11
Sweden
24
10
51
10
Li huania
24
4
51
15
Romania
23
5
39
12
Ne he lands
22
11
50
11
Slo akia
22
8
47
15
Luxembou g
21
9
49
13
Ge many
20
8
50
11
Hunga y
19
7
49
13
Es onia
19
7
50
14
Czech Republic
19
7
47
16
Po ugal
18
3
36
8
G eece
18
5
33
9
I aly
17
7
38
13
I eland
14
6
31
10
Mal a
13
6
37
11
Poland
12
4
37
12
Slo enia
12
4
34
9
C oa ia
12
3
42
11
Spain
12
4
33
9
EU-28 a e age
20
7
43
12
No e. The au ho , using da a om he FRA s udy (2014)
The incidence o emicides o e e y 1,000,000 women in
2017 in he di e en EU coun ies is p esen ed in Table 3.
10 o he coun ies ha e no da a collec ed and 2 o hem
(Cyp us and Mal a) poin o 0 emicides in 2017 Finland
(6.1), Hunga y (5.3), No he n I eland (5.3) and La ia (4.7)
a e he coun ies wi h he highes incidence o emicides. On
he o he hand, G eece (1.3), Slo akia (1.4), and I aly (1.8)
a e he coun ies wi h he lowes numbe o emicides pe
1,000,000 women, ollowed by Spain, he Ne he lands and
Li huania (2).
Table 3. Numbe and incidence o emicides in he EU-28 in 2017.
Incidence 2017
Coun ies
n
Fo e e y 1,000,000 women
Aus ia
(-)
(-)
Belgium
(-)
(-)
Bulga ia
(-)
(-)
Cyp us
0
0
La ia
5
4.7
Denma k
(-)
(-)
England and Wales *
63
2.4
Sco land*
7
2.5
No h I eland*
5
5.3
Finland
17
6.1
F ance
108
3.1
Sweden
(-)
(-)
Li huania
3
2
Incidence 2017
Coun ies
n
Fo e e y 1,000,000 women
Romania
52
5.2
Ne he lands
17
2
Slo akia
4
1.4
Luxembou g
(-)
(-)
Ge many
153
3.7
Hunga y
27
5.3
Es onia
(-)
(-)
Czech Republic
13
2.4
Po ugal
(-)
(-)
G eece
7
1.3
I aly
56
1.8
mal
0
0
Poland
(-)
(-)
Slo enia
3
2.9
C oa ia
9
4.2
Spain
47
2
No e. The au ho , based on he da a o in en ional homicides o women by
hei pa ne in 2017 (Eu os a , 2019) and he popula ion a e o women
(Eu os a , 2020).
Boxes wi h (-) mean he e is no da a.
* Eu os a sepa a es he Uni ed Kingdom in o England and Wales, Sco -
land and No he n I eland, so he e is no o e all da a o he Uni ed King-
dom.
Analysing he abo e da a, Spain is one o he coun ies
wi h he lowes p e alence a es in he EU-28, bo h in he
di e en o ms o GV and in he a e o emicides.
The epidemiological da a o GV in Spain, di e en ia ing
age b acke s can be seen in Table 4, and he incidence o
emicides in Spain is shown in Table 5. The age b acke s
wi h he highes p e alence o bo h GV and emicide a e he
age g oups be ween 18 and 49 yea s old. In GV, he g oups
wi h he highes p e alence would be hose aged be ween 30
and 39 yea s (0.33%), 18 and 29 yea s (0.32%) and 40 and 49
yea s (0.2%). The age anges wi h he highes a es o emi-
cides pe 1,000,000 women a e he g oups aged be ween 40
and 49 yea s (5.7), 18 and 29 yea s (3.5) and 30 and 39 yea s
(3.2). The smalles pe cen age o ic ims o GV is obse ed
in hose o e 60 yea s o age (155.6) and in emicides in
hose unde 18 yea s o age (0.2). Global da a shows a p e a-
lence in which a o al o 1,313.6 pe 1,000,000 women a e
ic ims o GV and 2.3 women pe 1,000,000 we e killed by
hei pa ne in 2019.
Table 4. P e alence o GV ic ims in Spain pe 1,000,000 women.
GV 2018
Age ange
n
Vic ims o GV pe 1,000,000 women
%
Unde 18 yea s
677
167.7
0.02
18 o 29 yea s
9,020
3,227.8
0.32
30 o 39 yea s
10,459
3,303.9
0.33
40 o 49 yea s
7,560
1,970.5
0.2
50 o 59 yea s
2,553
739
0.07
O e 60
1,017
155.6
0.02
To al
31,286
1,313.6
0.13
No e. The au ho , om he da a collec ed om he INE on GV (INE,
2019) and popula ion da a om he INE om July 1, 2018 (INE, 2020).
Epidemiological analysis o gende iolence in he Eu opean Union 383
anales de psicología / annals o psychology, 2020, ol. 36, nº 3 (oc obe )
Table 5. Incidence o emicides in Spain pe 1,000,000 women.
Feminicide 2019
Age
n
Feminicide pe 1,000,000 women
Unde 18 yea s
1
0.2
18 o 29 yea s
10
3.5
30 o 39 yea s
10
3.2
40 o 49 yea s
22
5.7
50 o 59 yea s
7
2
O e 60
5
0.8
To al
55
2.3
No e. The au ho , based on da a collec ed om he Go e nmen Delega ion
agains Gende Violence (2020) and popula ion da a om he INE om
Janua y 1, 2019 (INE, 2020)
Conclusions
The highes p e alence a es o GV a e obse ed in Oceania
and A ica espec i ely, compa ed o hem Eu ope is he
wo ld egion wi h he lowes p e alence a e. E en so, 22%
o women who ha e had an in ima e ela ionship wi h a man
epo expe iencing physical and/o sexual iolence a some
poin in hei li es, and 43% ha e su e ed some o m o
psychological iolence om hei pa ne (FRA, 2014).
The e a e impo an di e ences in he p e alence a es
o he di e en EU-28 Membe S a es ha may be due o
mul iple indi idual, poli ical and socio-cul u al ac o s. A e-
cen me a-analysis on da ing iolence concludes ha ac o s
ela ed o he socio-communi y en i onmen ( o example,
belonging o dange ous neighbou hoods) a e closely associ-
a ed wi h he pe pe a ion o da ing iolence (G acia-Lei a,
Puen e-Ma ínez, Ubillos-Landa & Páez-Ro i a, 2019). Se -
e al s udies show ha he e a e no signi ican di e ences be-
ween GV agg esso s and o he male o ende s in e ms o
he psychopa hological cha ac e is ics o he o ende s (Jua -
os-Bas e e xea, He e o, Fe nández-Suá ez, Pé ez &
Rod íguez-Díaz, 2018; Sjödin, Wallinius, Bills ed ,
Ho ande & Nilsson, 2017) o hei educa ional le el
(Loinaz, Ma zbal & And és-Pueyo, 2018). Howe e , con ic -
ed c iminals do ha e highe le els o accep ance o in ima e
pa ne iolence han men in he gene al popula ion (Ma ín-
Fe nández e al., 2018) and psychopa hic ai s ha ac as
p edic o s o he GV commission (Fe nández- Suá ez, Pé ez,
He e o, Jua os-Bas e e xea & Rod íguez-Díaz, 2018). A
ecen s udy on he implica ions in he ea men o o end-
e s, di e en ia ing be ween hose who ac ed iolen ly only
agains he pa ne and gene ally iolen agg esso s, showed
ha he men who bene i ed mos om psychological ea -
men s we e hose who gene ally ac ed iolen ly, he e o e, i
is concluded ha all c iminals, ega dless o he ype o
c ime, bene i om ea men s agains GV (Can os, Kosson,
Golds ein & O'Lea y, 2019). Rega ding young people, signi -
ican bene icial e ec s ha e been ound in bo h agg esso s
and ic ims who ha e unde gone he apeu ic in e en ions
(Yanez-Peñuñu i, Ma ínez-Gómez & Rey-Anacona, 2019).
F om he esul s ob ained, i is concluded ha Denma k
and Finland ha e he highes epidemiological a es in all
o ms o iolence excep economic iolence, wi h he Czech
Republic and Bulga ia being he coun ies wi h he highes
pe cen ages o his ype o iolence (FRA, 2014). The isk
ac o s and o wha ex en hey in luence he phenomenon
o GV a e no known exac ly. One o he mos s udied a i-
ables has been gende equali y and disc imina ion. Howe e ,
his ac con adic s he No dic Pa adox, which e eals ha
coun ies wi h a e y high sco e in he Equali y Index
(EIGE, 2019) such as Sweden (83.6 poin s), Finland (73.6
poin s) and Denma k (77.5 poin s) ha e highe le els o GV
han o he EU coun ies. No de e mining explana ion has
been ound o why his is he case (G acia, Ma ín-
Fe nández, Lila & I e , 2019; G acia and Me lo, 2016;
Wem ell e al., 2019) bu he ela ionship be ween hos ile
sexis a i udes and GV has been demons a ed (Jua os-
Bas e e xea, O e all, He e o & Rod íguez-Díaz, 2019).
Hos ile sexis a i udes also in luence heal h p o essionals
who ha e a lowe le el o in ol emen in iden i ying women
who a e ic ims o GV in hei wo kplace (No iega, Jua os-
Bas e e xea & He e o, 2020).
O he di e en o ms o GV, psychological iolence is
he mos p e alen ype o abuse in all EU coun ies. In
Spain, in 2015 he Mac o-su ey on Violence agains Women
(Go e nmen Delega ion o Gende Violence, 2015) was
published, which indica es ha psychological iolence, pa -
icula ly con ol iolence (su eillance and es ic ion o
hou s, places and con ac s o women wi h iends and ami-
ly, among o he s) is he mos p e alen ype o abuse being
su e ed by one in ou women (25.4%). This mani es a ion
o iolence mus be conside ed wi h special a en ion due o
he high equency in which psychological abuse, e bal ag-
g ession and abuse by con ol a e no conside ed as GV by
he popula ion (Go e nmen Delega ion o Gende Vio-
lence, 2014) and because i is he ype o iolence wi h he
highes p obabili y o occu ence when i is epea ed (López-
Osso io, González, Buque ín, Ga cía & Buela-Casal, 2017).
In adolescen s and young adul s, a ela ionship has been
ound be ween high le els o emo ional dependence and he
exis ence o psychological abuse, bo h in ic ims and in o -
ende s (Ma ín & Mo al, 2019), wi h highe le els o emo-
ional dependence in young men in he gene al popula ion
(Valle & Mo al, 2018).
The analyses ca ied ou on emicide show a he e ogene-
ous dis ibu ion as in he s udy o he p e alence o GV cas-
es. In his ega d, high a es a e obse ed in Finland, No h-
e n I eland, Hunga y, Romania and La ia wi h incidences
ha oscilla e annually be ween 4 o 6 cases pe 1,000,000
women, and compa ed o hem he g oup consis ing o Li h-
uania, he Ne he lands, Spain, I aly, Slo akia and G eece
wi h signi ican ly lowe incidence igu es anging om 1 o 2
cases pe 1,000,000 women.
Al hough he p e alence a es o emicides in he EU
appea o be low, in he con ex o he pa ne , women ha e
a i e imes g ea e isk o being killed by hei in ima e pa -
ne han men (UNODC, 2014). Spain, compa ed o he Eu-
opean a e age, is one o he coun ies wi h he lowes a es
o emicide. The policies implemen ed in he coun y ha e
384 Ma ía Paz Be múdez and Mon se a Meléndez-Domínguez
anales de psicología / annals o psychology, 2020, ol. 36, nº 3 (oc obe )
allowed he c ea ion o specialized ins i u ions in he p e en-
ion o GV and p omo e he p epa a ion o s udies on he
subjec , such as, o example, he De ailed Re iew o he
cases o emicides in Spain ha aims o s udy he psychoso-
cial cha ac e is ics o emicides o unde s and and p e en
his p oblem (González e al., 2018; González-Ál a ez e al.,
201). In o de o pe o m a eliable ca ego iza ion o GV ag-
g esso s, i is necessa y o ca y ou in o ma ion-ga he ing
using sel - epo s and o icial eco ds (Webe , Taylo , Can-
os, Amado & O’Lea y, 2019).
One o he main p oblems o collec ing da a and com-
pa ing hem in he di e en membe s o he EU, which in
pa icula includes he annual GV igu es, is he lack o a
common e minology in all Membe S a es, al hough he Is-
anbul Con en ion included a de ini ion o GV and o do-
mes ic iolence o be used by he coun ies ha a i ied he
Con en ion.
No all coun ies ha e laws o egula e and p e en GV
(see Table 6). Acco ding o he compila ion o legal de ini-
ions o he di e en EIGE membe s a es (2016), 10 EU
coun ies do no ha e any law ha egula es GV o domes ic
iolence and, o he 18 coun ies ha do ha e egula ions,
only Sweden, Belgium, I eland and Spain di e en ia e GV
om domes ic iolence. Likewise, he e is no uni ica ion o
concep ualisa ion among he coun ies ha ha e egula ions,
hus, he Czech Republic ecognises as domes ic iolence he
mis ea men o people who li e in he same esidence wi h-
ou ha ing o ha e any kinship ies. Spanish Law is he only
one o all he Membe S a es ha includes in i s egula ions
ha gende iolence mus be exe cised by men agains wom-
en. These da a suppo he need o ca y ou a common con-
cep ualiza ion o GV o all EU coun ies in o de o collec
eliable and compa able da a.
Table 6. Exis ence o legal concep ualiza ion o GV in he EU coun ies.
Coun ies
The e is a GV o
domes ic iolence law
Di e en ia es GV om
domes ic iolence
Aus ia
Belgium
X
X
Bulga ia
X
Cyp us
X
La ia
Denma k
UK
X
Finland
F ance
X
Sweden
X
X
Li huania
X
Romania
X
Ne he lands
X
Slo akia
Luxembou g
Ge many
Hunga y
Es onia
Czech Republic
X
Po ugal
G eece
X
I aly
X
Mal a
X
Poland
X
Slo enia
X
C oa ia
X
I eland
X
X
Spain
X
X
No e.The au ho , om he legal de ini ions o he EU Membe S a es col-
lec ed in he EIGE (2020).
Taking in o accoun all hese limi a ions, i is necessa y o
es ablish he epidemiological cha ac e is ics o GV se ing
global guidelines used by all membe s a es ha a i ied he
Is anbul Con en ion o unde s and he phenomenon in
dep h and p oceed o he implemen a ion o e icien and e -
ec i e policies in he p e en ion o GV.
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