One third of women in the EU have been subjected to physical violence or sexual abuse since the age of 15.
Assaults have taken place against 62 million women in Europe, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind.
The research involved interviews with 42,000 women aged 18 to 74 in all 28 EU states. It asked them about their experiences of physical, sexual and psychological violence, including domestic assaults, as well as stalking and sexual harassment.
One in 20 women endured rape.
One in 10 women reported some form of sexual violence by an adult before reaching the age of 15. Just more than one in five has suffered physical and/or sexual violence from a partner, either current or previous.
Nearly half of all women have been subjected to some form of psychological violence at the hands of a partner, such as being humiliated in public, locked in the house, forced to watch pornography or threatened with violence.
The report noted that violence from a partner is not frequently reported to the police or other organisations, with just 14% telling police about “their most serious incident of intimate partner violence”.
Nine million women have been stalked since the age of 15, of whom 21% said it went on longer than two years.
Internet harassment has victimised 20% of young women aged 18 to 29.
The report, undertaken by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency, calls for a review of existing policies and laws on violence against women.
