Editorial - Violence against women, a slow battle

"The sad reality is that nothing has really changed." These are the damning and distressing words of Sirpa Rautio, the Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. She was speaking last Monday when presenting the results of the Eurostat survey on gender-based violence in the EU. "Despite the Istanbul Convention and the directives on gender equality, one woman in three has already experienced violence, as was the case in 2014", when the very first survey covering the whole of Europe was published. This ratio has not changed and, as we all know, is probably much lower than it actually is, given the difficulties women have in speaking out.

The statistics from the survey are staggering: one in three women has experienced violence, whether physical (including threats) or sexual; one in six has been a victim of sexual violence, including rape; one in five has been raped by a partner, parent or family member; and one in three has been harassed at work (two in five for younger women). "There are no safe places for women, " stresses Ms Rautio. Not their homes, not their workplaces, not public spaces.