Combatting Violence against Women: European Added Value Assessment (+ Annexes I-II)

Studie 15-11-2013

Over and above the adverse and onerous consequences for female victims, violence against women brings with it significant costs for communities, societies and nations, affecting public well-being, health and safety, productivity, law enforcement and public budgets. It is estimated that the annual cost to the EU-28 of gender-based violence against women amounted to EUR 228 billion in 2011, or 1.8% of EU GDP. Although this problem, and the urgent need to address it, has been acknowledged, the current EU framework for fighting violence against women presents important shortcomings at different levels: national legislations of the 28 EU Member States offer unequal protection of women against all forms of violence; several international and regional instruments on combatting violence against women have been adopted but lack effectiveness in national legal orders; and despite undeniable progress, the measures adopted at EU level present important lacunae, notably in terms of prevention. Annexes: I - Assessing the necessity and effects of intervention at EU level by REGINE research programme on Gender (Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense) II - Economic and legal aspects of the added value of measures to combat violence against women by Professor Sylvia Walby and Philippa Olive (Lancaster University)