Abstract
Objectives
To describe and analyze whether a relationship exists between gender equality and political responses to gender violence (GV) against women with physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) in the European Union (EU).
Methods
We analyzed a subsample of 39,269 ever-partnered women aged 18 and older from the violence against women survey (2012) of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights. Outcome was last 12 months physical and/or sexual IPV. Multilevel Poisson regression models were used.
Results
Current prevalence of IPV was 4.2%. Having suffered abuse by an adult before age 15 was the strongest associated factor for increasing the probability of suffering (PR: 2.9). Living in countries with higher gender equality, with anti-GV legislation prior to 2005, in countries where the state involved multiple actors in GV response and in countries with family policies included in the Anglo-Saxon, Eastern European and Southern European typologies (reference: Nordic), diminishes the women likelihood of suffering IPV.
Conclusions
The response to IPV in the EU requires an integral approach that accounts for the efforts of multiple sectors as well as policies that reach greater levels of gender equality in the countries.
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This manuscript reflects original work. The manuscript has not been published previously (partly or in full) and is not under consideration elsewhere. All authors have participated in conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of the data; drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and approval of the final version and accept responsibility for its contents. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights approved and supervised this secondary data analysis and design and provides a special license for this purpose (reference number 93210).
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This article is part of the special issue “Violence, Justice, and Health: Implications for a Multisectoral Collaboration”.
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Sanz-Barbero, B., Corradi, C., Otero-García, L. et al. The effect of macrosocial policies on violence against women: a multilevel study in 28 European countries. Int J Public Health 63, 901–911 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-018-1143-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-018-1143-1