The European Institute on Gender Equality (EIGE) has released a new report outlining best practices and methodologies for estimating the costs of domestic violence and other forms of violence against women in the European Union (EU). The report’s authors found that the “estimated personal and societal cost of Violence against Women is alarmingly high,” negatively impacting women, their families and the economy. However, EIGE noted that the “real cost” of violence against women was likely underestimated in the report, due to a lack of precise and comparable data across EU countries.
EIGE Director Virginija Langbakk said, “We are facing a very unhealthy effect on society and economy . . . . Victims often suffer long term physical and psychological damage that disables their normal lives and decreases their chances of economic participation.”
Compiled from: Cost of Violence against Women largely underestimated, European Institute for Gender Equality News (December 15, 2014).