A new study of attitudes towards gender-based violence in Europe was published last month by the European Commission, with the final report containing some worrying statistics for us to reflect on during our 16 Days of Activism campaign.

For instance, 27% of EU residents said that sex without consent may be justified under certain circumstances, while 12% of respondents said forced sexual intercourse was acceptable if the victim was “drunk or on drugs”.

Participants were selected from different social and demographic backgrounds across the continent, with a breakdown of the statistics for each country giving an insight into the best and worst nations when it comes to understanding what constitutes gender-based violence.

Romania and Hungary were consistently among the most likely to say that a given situation may be a justification for sex without consent, while those in Sweden and Spain were among the least likely to say so.

Among the other statistics: 24% said they knew of a friend or family member who had been a victim of domestic violence; 74% said they thought domestic violence against women was common in their country; and around one in six said that they considered domestic violence to be a “private matter” that should be handled within the family.

But there are some signs for hope in the future, with a few statistics providing a basis for “cautious optimism”. For example, 96% said domestic violence against women was “unacceptable”, although 12% said they did not think it should always be punished by law.

86% said violence against women was most likely to happen at home, whilst 19% said it was most likely to happen in public places or online and 17% percent mentioned the workplace.

The European Commission called for more attention to be paid to protecting women from becoming victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence, but said: “Across the EU there is widespread agreement that domestic violence, sexual harassment and other acts of gender-based violence are unacceptable or wrong.”

You can get involved with our work this month during the 16 Days of Activism campaign to combat gender-based violence. We are making the city orange until 10th December in support of the UN led campaign. Organise something orange, raise money to support us, go to school or work dressed in orange. Organise a paintballing event to support the campaign using orange paint. The options are endless! You’ve got 16 days. Share it using #orangetheworld and tagging @equationorg on Facebook or Twitter.

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