What is gender-based violence?

Gender-based violence against women refers to "violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately” as defined by the Istanbul Convention, Article 3 and EU Directive 2024/1385, Article 2.

Acts of gender-based violence can result in physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. The Istanbul Convention explicitly frames gender-based violence and violence against women as a gendered act which is ‘a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women’.

Gender-based violence and violence against women are terms that are often used interchangeably, as it has been widely acknowledged that most gender-based violence is inflicted on women and girls, by men. However, using the term ‘gender-based’ is important as it highlights the fact that many forms of violence against women are rooted in structural power inequalities between women and men.

In our work, EIGE uses these definitions when speaking about gender-based violence or violence against women.

Gender-based violence is enacted under many different manifestations, from its most widespread form, intimate partner violence, to acts of violence carried out in online spaces. These different forms are not mutually exclusive and multiple incidences of violence can be happening at once and reinforcing each other. Inequalities experienced by a person related to their race, (dis)ability, age, social class, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity can also drive acts of violence. This means that while women face violence and discrimination based on gender, some women experience multiple and interlocking forms of violence.

We adopt a gender-sensitive lens in how we analyse gender-based violence. This means we take into account women’s social, political and economic standing in society relative to men and how this makes them specifically vulnerable to violence. Therefore, our work on gender-based violence conceptualises it as a consequence of gender inequality and highlights the experiences of women.

We cannot use the same instruments to measure violence against men and violence against women, as there is evidence that they experience violence differently.

For example, the FRA survey on Fundamental Rights (2019) shows more women experience violence in the context of intimate relationships, whereas men experience more violence in non-partner contexts (for example, physical violence committed by a stranger). Our collection on administrative data similarly shows women are the majority of victims in intimate partner violence.

EIGE takes an intersectional approach to analyse gender-based violence. We examine how gender interacts with other social factors such as age, ethnicity, migrant background, class, sexual orientation, etc. This helps us identify which groups are most vulnerable and what heightened risks are faced by marginalised communities.

Therefore, EIGE maintains that instruments should be developed specifically for men based on research within this community and should contemplate intersectional aspects that shape men’s experience of violence.