Key Takeaways
- The EU-27 average share of women who have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence over their lifetime reaches 30.7%.
- Finland records the highest rate in the EU at 57.1%. Bulgaria records the lowest at 11.9%.
- Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands reach their high totals mainly through reported sexual violence.
- Hungary and Romania reach high totals in gender-based violence. It is mainly driven by physical violence and threats, not sexual violence.
- Countries where women completed the survey themselves reported higher sexual violence than countries where an interviewer asked the questions directly.
Women Who Have Experienced Physical or Sexual Violence by EU Country
| Country | Reported Cases (% out of women surveyed) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Violence/Threats | Sexual Violence | Total | |
| EU-27 Average | 13.5% | 17.2% | 30.7% |
| Finland | 19.7% | 37.3% | 57.1% |
| Sweden | 11.5% | 41.0% | 52.5% |
| Hungary | 31.2% | 17.9% | 49.1% |
| Denmark | 14.2% | 33.3% | 47.5% |
| Luxembourg | 15.4% | 30.0% | 45.4% |
| Romania | 28.2% | 13.9% | 42.2% |
| Netherlands | 12.6% | 28.6% | 41.2% |
| Ireland | 19.0% | 21.7% | 40.7% |
| Slovakia | 20.3% | 17.6% | 37.9% |
| Greece | 18.4% | 18.1% | 36.5% |
| Cyprus | 21.5% | 14.6% | 36.1% |
| Austria | 12.0% | 23.7% | 35.7% |
| France | 12.9% | 21.6% | 34.5% |
| Estonia | 15.1% | 18.0% | 33.1% |
| Italy* | 12.9% | 18.8% | 31.7% |
| Belgium | 12.9% | 16.1% | 29.1% |
| Spain | 10.6% | 17.6% | 28.2% |
| Germany | 10.8% | 14.8% | 25.6% |
| Croatia | 11.9% | 13.4% | 25.3% |
| Lithuania | 15.0% | 10.2% | 25.2% |
| Latvia | 16.0% | 9.0% | 25.1% |
| Malta | 13.3% | 11.1% | 24.4% |
| Slovenia | 13.0% | 9.6% | 22.5% |
| Czechia | 10.6% | 9.2% | 19.7% |
| Portugal | 13.2% | 6.4% | 19.7% |
| Poland | 11.6% | 5.0% | 16.7% |
| Bulgaria | 8.5% | 3.4% | 11.9% |
Source: FRA, EIGE, Eurostat (2024)
Physical violence and/or threats exclude sexual violence. Sexual violence includes rape and other unwanted sexual acts.
Both figures cover violence by any perpetrator, including partners and non-partners.
* = Italy’s figures come from a national survey using a different methodology than the EU-GBV survey and are not directly comparable to the other countries.
Women in the EU-27 report physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by any perpetrator over their lifetime. The EU-27 average reaches 30.7%.
That average hides a large gap between countries. It ranges from 57.1% in Finland to 11.9% in Bulgaria.
The prevalence rates above come from a survey, not from police records.
A higher share of gender-based violence in one country reflects what women reported experiencing. It is not always about how dangerous that country is to live in.
Women in Finland and Sweden Report the EU’s Highest Rates of Sexual Violence
Finland records the EU’s highest total at 57.1%. Sweden ranks second at 52.5%.
Sexual violence drives both totals:
- Finland: 37.3% sexual violence, 19.7% physical violence or threats
- Sweden: 41.0% sexual violence, 11.5% physical violence or threats
Denmark, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands show the same pattern. Sexual violence outpaces physical violence and threats in each country by a wide margin.
Countries where women answered the sensitive questions on their own tended to record higher rates of sexual violence. That contrasts with countries where an interviewer asked the questions directly.
Finland and Sweden also rank among the world’s most gender-equal countries.
Best EU Countries for Women ->
Researchers call this the Nordic paradox. It describes countries that score well on gender equality while also reporting high levels of violence against women.
Women in Hungary and Romania Report High Rates of Physical Violence
Hungary records the EU’s third-highest total at 49.1%. Romania ranks sixth at 42.2%.
Hungary and Romania reach these totals mainly through physical violence.
- Hungary: 31.2% physical violence or threats vs. 17.9% sexual violence
- Romania: 28.2% physical violence or threats vs. 13.9% sexual violence
That reverses the pattern in Finland and Sweden. Sexual violence, not physical violence, drives their highest totals.
Legal definitions of rape may help explain part of this pattern. Hungary’s criminal code defines rape around the use of force, not the absence of consent.
Romania’s law includes some consent-related elements. A Council of Europe review still recommended amending it to fully reflect the absence of consent.
A narrower legal definition can affect how readily a woman recognizes and reports an experience as sexual violence in a survey.
A Low Score Does Not Mean a Country Is Safer for Women
Bulgaria records the EU’s lowest total at 11.9%.
Three more countries rank near the bottom of the list:
- Poland: 16.7%
- Czechia: 19.7%
- Portugal: 19.7%
A low total does not mean a country is safer for women. It can instead reflect how comfortable women felt disclosing violence in that country’s survey.
Finland and Bulgaria show why. Women in Finland filled out the survey privately online. Women in Bulgaria more often answered questions from an interviewer in person.
It is easier to admit something painful on a private screen than out loud to another person.
That difference in method alone can shift a country’s number up or down. It doesn’t require any real change in violence underneath it.
Different factors can affect how much violence women report in a survey:
- Awareness of what counts as violence
- Legal recognition of offences such as marital rape
- Public debate
The gap between countries reflects two things:
- real differences in violence
- real differences in how willing women were to disclose it in a survey
The EU set up a single number for this purpose in 2022. Dialing 116016 connects a woman to her own country’s national helpline for violence against women.
The number works the same way in every EU country.
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