Almost half of the women between the ages of 16 and 85 living in the Basque Country have ever experienced some form of male violence

48.2% of women between the ages of16 and 85 living in the Basque Country (449,295 women in particular) have suffered some form of violence at some point  (physical - including threats - sexual and/or psychological) simply becausethey are women, whether in or outside partner relationships, and 7.4% (68,949) have suffered this violence in the last year.

To give just a few examples: half of those women who go with you in your office or in your workshop, in your neighborhood, on the bus, you see them at the supermarket, you sit at the same table at a family meal, or you see them at the bar, have suffered male violence at some point in their lives, or are now suffering it, whatever kind of male violence.

This is the core conclusion drawn from the first official survey carried out bythe Basque Government on violence against women and other forms of interpersonal violence in 2024, in which 4,500 women aged 16 to 85 have been taken as representative samples and extrapolated data from in-depth surveys of them.

During the period of the study, 932,679 women aged 16 to 85 lived in the Basque Country, 884,776 of whom have had some kind of partner relationship.

The report released this Friday explains the prevalence of different types of male violence suffered by women in the Basque Country, such as physical, sexual or psychological violence, distinguishing between age groups (16-29, 30-44, 45-64, 65-85) and other sociodemographic characteristics.

According to the report, 29.4 per cent (260,726) of women who have had a partner have suffered some form of violence in their partner relationships (physical - including threats, sexual and/or psychological).

13.5 per cent of women who have ever had a partner have experienced physical violence (including threats) in the couple at some point in their lives, and 15.7 per cent (146,651 women) have suffered physical violence (including threats) outside the couple.

Withregard to sexual violence, 8.3 per cent of women (73,743) have experienced it within the couple and 26.1 per cent (243,494) outside the couple.

The most common acts of sexual violence in the couple are rape, "forcing them to have unwanted sexual intercourse", either because they are afraid of the consequences if denied (5.9 per cent) by threatening, tying or hurting them (4.1 per cent).

The most common acts of sexual violence outside the scope of the couple are related to touches of the genitals, breasts, buttocks or lips when the woman did not want to (24.4 per cent). Apart from touches against the will of the woman, 7 per cent of women report having been forced or attempted to have sexual intercourse at some point in their lives.

In 18.6 per cent of cases outside the area of contact, the aggressor was an unknown person; in the other cases, sexual violence has occurred in nearby environments (school, neighbourhood, group of friends), 7.7 per cent of cases, by a relative (2.4 per cent) or in the workplace (1.4 per cent), and 14.2 per cent of women have experienced sexual violence in different areas.

Psychological violence within the couple affects 28.6 per cent of women (253,788), while 9.5 per cent (84,478 women) report having feared for their partner or ex-partner in the past year. 

The report specifies that men who have used physical violence against their partners or ex-partners often also use psychological violence, as has been the case in 94.6 per cent of cases, and 6.8 per cent of victims have suffered male violence from more than one ex-partner.

Sociodemographic characteristics of male violence

The data in this report show that violence affectswomen of all ages , but the rate is higher among women aged 30 to 44 (62.3 per cent) and between 16 and 29 (55.8 per cent), while the lowest rate is among women aged 65 to 85 (30.2 per cent).

Thus, the likelihood that younger women will suffer some form of violence within and outside the couple, especially sexual and psychological violence, seems to be higher, as their prevalence rates far exceed the average rate. However, it should be borne in mind that older women's rates may show a lower rate than they actually are, because, conditioned by the education they have received, they may find it more difficult to report violence.

The data indicate that persons withdisabilitiesof 33 per cent or more  who are recognized  and/or who have severe limitations on carrying out daily life activities are slightly more likely to suffer violence than other women (49.8 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively).

Withregard to nationality, the proportion of women of non-Spanish nationality who have ever suffered violence by their partner or other person is much higher than that of Spaniards (61.1 per cent and 46.8 per cent, respectively).

Differencesare also observed according to the level of education, but the data do not allow a linear relationship to be inferred. The same is true of the prevalence data according tothelevel of monthly household income net. However, violence appears to affect women in both high and low incomes, although the prevalence is somewhat higher in low-income households.