Violence against girls and women: comparison of two cross-national surveys

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Abstract

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) surveys on gender-based violence (2014, 2024) have sparked considerable academic discussion about violence prevalence rates across European countries and their measurement. According to the last two sweeps, women in Finland and Sweden report experiencing violence more frequently, despite these countries' relatively high gender equality. This study aims to examine this issue by comparing the latest FRA gender-based violence survey with the fourth sweep of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD4). We will focus on violent victimization among adolescent girls aged 13-17 in the ISRD4, while incorporating both recent and childhood experiences of adult women of different age groups from the FRA survey. By investigating cross-national patterns of reported violence and comparing the methodological approaches of both survey systems, this study contributes to our understanding of violence against girls and women as well as the survey methodology in cross-national violence research.

Authors

• Matti Näsi, University of Helsinki

• Karoliina Suonpää, University of Helsinki