Some 45% of women in the Netherlands say they have been subjected to either physical or sexual violence since reaching the age of 15, according to a new report by the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights in Vienna.

The EU average is 33%.

In particular, Dutch women score high when asked about sexual violence, with 18% saying they have been assaulted in some way, the NRC reports. Only Denmark has a higher figure. The EU average is 11%.

Outspoken

The report does not give reasons for the high Dutch and Danish figures but research chief Joanna Goodey told the NRC Dutch women may be more likely to describe some incidents as ‘undesirable’ and are more outspoken.

In addition, binge drinking – which is more widespread in northern than southern countries – may contribute, the NRC says.

Incidents of physical assault ranged from being pushed or shoved to being stabbed and punched.

Nevertheless, even if all the ‘mild’ incidents are filtered out, the results still show one in four European women has been confronted with physical or sexual assault.

Stalking

The research is not based on actual reported attacks but on the research subject’s perceptions. In total, 42,000 women across all 28 EU countries were interviewed.

The research also showed one in five women has been stalked and almost 75% of women in management functions say they have had to deal with sexual harrassment at work. One in four of them were harrassed at work in the year preceeding the survey.

Read the report