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fundamental freedoms. Violence against women and girls is characterised by the use and abuse of power and

control in public and private spheres, and is intrinsically linked with gender stereotypes that underlie and

perpetuate such violence, as well as other factors that increase women’s and girls’ vulnerability to such

violence.”

5. It was an outstanding achievement that these words could be included in the Conclusions of the 2013

Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) of the United Nations. They echo what can be found in many

Council of Europe instruments and declarations. I regret, however, that these concepts struggle to sink into the

minds of ordinary people. Surveys confirm my concerns. The article below, published by a known non-

governmental organisation (NGO), gathers the findings of several surveys conducted in the United Kingdom.

“Society’s attitudes to violence against women

More people would call the police if someone was mistreating their dog than if someone was mistreating

their partner (78% versus 53%). [ICM (2003) Hitting Home BBC Domestic Violence Survey]

Over a quarter of people think a woman bears some responsibility for being raped if she is wearing

revealing clothing. 18% think rape can be a woman's fault if she is known to have had many sexual partners.

[Rape Crisis Scotland, Rape Crisis Scotland Public Awareness Campaign, in Rape Crisis (England and Wales)

National Conference. Leeds (5 February 2008)]

Nearly half of people believe that domestic violence is something that happens behind closed doors and is

for the partners to sort out. [ICM (2003) Hitting Home BBC Domestic Violence Survey]

30% of people believe that domestic violence is acceptable in certain circumstances.

Nearly a third of men think that domestic violence is acceptable if their partner has been nagging them.”

6. I am afraid that surveys conducted in other Council of Europe member States would give similar

frightening results.

7. Violence against women will continue to thrive unless we change people’s mindsets. We should

challenge the social norms, customs, traditions – and even the language – that perpetuate inequality and the

existence or the perception of a hierarchy between sexes. As long as we accept inequality we condone

violence against women; as long as there is violence against women, there will be inequality.

2. Aim of the present report

8. The present report is not meant to be an extensive analysis of the phenomenon of violence against

women in Europe or of the legal and policy measures introduced by Council of Europe member States to

counter it. This work is currently being conducted by the intergovernmental sector of the Council of Europe, in

the context of monitoring the implementation of Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec(2002)5 on the

protection of women against violence.

9. This report is above all a policy document: it aims at taking stock of where we stand in Europe with the

awareness of this problem and the political will to tackle it; what are the challenges and opportunities that

present themselves at this particular point in time; and what can be the added value of the Council of Europe

for its member States.

10. This reflection is the result of my work as General Rapporteur on violence against women of the

Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination. My objective is to encourage Council of Europe member States

to make a leap forward in this area, without any further delay.

3. Prevalence of violence in Europe

11. The WHO study I mentioned at the beginning of this memorandum is the first global report ever on the

prevalence of violence against women and girls of 15 years of age and above.

Lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence/non-partner sexual violence among all women (15 years

and older), by WHO region