Glossary

• Author: European Institute for Gender Equality (EU body or agency)
• Pages: 8-8

Glossary

European Institute for Gender Equality8

Glossary

The following definitions are used in the repor t.

Gender-based violence refers to any act of

violence directed against a person because

of their gender. Because women are exposed

to this violence to a greater extent, gen-

der-based violence is used interchangeably

with violence against women from this

point onwards in this report.

Intimate partner violence is ‘[a]ny act of

physical, sexual, psychological or economic

violence that occurs bet ween former or cur-

rent spouses or partners, whether or not the

perpetrator shares or has shared the same

residence with the victim (EIGE, 2017b). This

definition includes all forms of intimate part-

ner violence. This violence constitutes a form

of violence which af fects women dispropor-

tionately and which is therefore distinctly

gendered (EIGE, Glossary and Thesaurus).

Domestic violence (also referred to as

domestic abuse) is all acts of physical, sex-

ual, psychological or economic violence that

occur within the family or domestic unit, irre-

spective of biological or legal family ties, or

between former or current spouses or par t-

ners, whether or not the perpetrator shares

or has shared the same residence as the

victim (EIGE (Glossary and Thesaurus), based

on Council of Europe (2011)).

A witness is an adult who observes or is oth-

erwise made aware of intimate partner vio-

lence (or suspects intimate partner violence).

Witnesses’ suppor t for victims (also

referred to as intervening) encompasses

a range of actions including talking to the

victim, helping them to access suppor t and

accompanying them to support services, as

well as reporting the case to the police or

relevant authorities or helping the victim to

do so.

A professional is s o me o ne wh o wo rk s at a re l-

evant competent authority (such as the police

or judiciary, a national or local authority or a

support serv ice) and works with witnesses.

An environment is to be understood as the

setting in which reporting of intimate partner

violence often occurs.

A victim is a ‘natural person who has suffered

harm, including physical, mental or emotional

harm or economic loss which was directly

caused by a criminal of fence (European

Parliament and Council of the European

Union, 2012).