Violence Against Women in the EU: Key Findings

This week saw the launch of an extensive new report on Violence Against Women in the European Union, carried out by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. The report, which surveyed 42,000 women across the 28 member states of the EU, revealed some stark and sobering statistics. Forty-four percent of women in the UK reported experiencing some form of physical and/or sexual violence after the age of 15. Across the whole study, one in 20 women had been raped, and over a fifth (22%) of women in relationships reported partner abuse. For many, the results were shocking.

But for us at the Everyday Sexism Project, these findings are not surprising. They simply reflect the reality of the women and girls who share their testimonies with us on a daily basis. We hear facts and figures so often in the press that it can be easy to become desensitised to the reality they convey. But behind every one of those percentage points are thousands of real women experiencing harassment, assault, and rape. The following are testimonies submitted by women to the Everyday Sexism Project over the last two years. Theirs are the stories behind the statistics.

Statistics and Personal Accounts from the UK

Sexual Harassment

According to the survey, of women in the UK:

68% experienced some form of sexual harassment since the age of 15.

"I have lost count of the number of times I have been followed, propositioned by creepy men on quiet streets and felt very threatened, and had lewd and abusive comments about my appearance screamed at me from passing cars. It happens regardless of what I am wearing – the most recent time I was wearing jeans and a large raincoat – and at any time of day, however it is most common at night, especially when I am alone."

Stalking

19% had been stalked since the age of 15.

"I used to have very long hair, I was stalked by an older man because of my hair. At my work they would do nothing about the stalker. He would leave presents, stay there all day, try to touch me, randomly try to touch my hair, stay after close and hang around my car. My manager told me that it's a public place and he means no harm, and if it bothered me so much I should cut my hair and not have it so long because it is enticing to men."

Physical and/or Sexual Partner Violence

29% experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a partner, after the age of 15.

"I was repeatedly raped by my now ex-'boyfriend' at age 17. I stayed with him because he threatened to kill me and knew where I lived and where I went to school. Then he started to contact female friends of mine 'to have a little fun together' and I finally managed to leave him. I was so afraid he would harm my friends, too. He stalked me for another six months. He once tried to run me over with his car after I left him. I was too shocked and afraid to tell anyone."

Psychological Partner Violence

46% experienced psychological violence by a partner, after the age of 15.

"Over the years, I learned from my ex that I was selfish, incompetent, a user, harsh, unfeminine, undependable, fat, not as good as [other women], a taker, and so on. If I recognised any of these tendencies within me, I strove to overcome them, but now I doubt that any of them were ever real. They were just hurtful words used to undermine and manipulate me."