Nearly 1 in 5 Irish women face physical violence in their lifetime, EU study reveals
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Almost 20% of Irish women have experienced physical violence, or the threat of physical violence, in their lifetime — the sixth-highest percentage across the EU, according to a comprehensive new study.
The research, published to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, shows that almost 22% of Irish women have been subjected to sexual violence, the seventh-highest rate across Europe.
Its publication comes just days after Conor McGregor was found civilly liable for assaulting Nikita Hand in 2018 in a Dublin hotel room.
On Monday night, around 200 people marched through Dublin City centre in support of Nikita Hand, who watched the rally online and sent messages of support on Instagram Live.
Figures released by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) on Monday showed that the number of first-time callers to its helpline increased by 50% over the weekend following Ms Hand's High Court victory.
Over the six hours immediately after the verdict was delivered on Friday afternoon, the overall number of calls to DRCC surged by 150%.
The latest research by the EU Gender-based Violence Survey shows that while Irish women’s experience of physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner is above the EU average, Ireland has the highest rate for such violence perpetrated by someone who was not an intimate partner.
In addition, the research found that 44% of women in this country have experienced sexual harassment in work, the sixth highest out of the 27 states.
The report found:
- 19% of Irish women have experienced physical violence, or threats of, in their lifetime – compared to 13.5% across the EU, on average;
- 21.7% have experienced sexual violence, compared to EU average of 17.2%;
- 40.7% experienced one or the other, compared to EU average of 30.7%.
In relation to violence from an intimate partner, the research found that more than a fifth of Irish women had experienced physical violence, or threat of, in the last year. That compared to an EU average of 17.7%. For the same cohort of women, 35% experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. The EU average was 31.8%.
The report was published by Eurostat, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights and the European Institute for Gender Equality.
Overall, the survey found every third woman across the EU has experienced physical violence, including threats, or sexual violence in what one official described as an “invisible epidemic”.
The findings are based on responses from women aged 18 to 74 and offers a glimpse of the wide-reaching impact that violence has had on the 229m women who live across the bloc, said Sirpa Rautio, the director of the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights.
“One-third of them have been slapped, hit, kicked, raped, or threatened with such violence,” she said. “In the EU, in 2024, women’s safety still cannot be guaranteed.”
In what she described as a “sad reality”, the figures remain virtually unchanged from those published in a 2014 EU-wide survey on violence against women.
The survey also found that one in six women in the EU had experienced sexual violence, including rape, during adulthood.
Just 14% of women said they had reported the violence to police. Those who had chosen not to report cited worries about their safety, feelings of shame, or a lack of trust in the authorities.
“This underreporting means that we have an invisible epidemic of violence in Europe,” said Rautio.
Carlien Scheele, the director of the European Institute for Gender Equality, linked the low reporting rates to the “shame and blame” that continues to be associated with violence against women.
“The troubling reality is not just how many women experience violence in the EU, it’s also how many women don’t report experiences of violence,” she said, calling for the adoption of victim-centred and culturally sensitive approaches that would allow women to feel safer coming forward.