Gender aspects in domestic violence

While both, women and men experience domestic violence, women are more likely to experience repeated and more severe forms of abuse, including sexual violence. In the European Union, 22% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence in an intimate relationship since the age of 15 and about 43% of women have experienced psychological violence in an intimate relationship (FRA, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights 2014. Violence against women: An EU-wide survey. Main results.). VIPROM promotes the right of victims of domestic violence to receive the best health care from trained and competent professionals. VIPROM is convinced that the acquisition of competence in identifying the signs of domestic violence makes it possible to grasp the risk factors of an evolution into femicide, thus preventing it. VIPROM thus contributes to the promotion and further realisation of the EU’s objectives and principles, as set out in particular in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, the Istanbul Convention or the recently proposed Directive of the EU Parliament and Council on combating domestic violence in Europe.