Why VAW prevalence surveys matter
Countries gather information on violence against women from a range of sources. Police reports, healthcare records, and data from legal and social services each provide valuable insights. However, that covers only reported cases. Since, on average, at least 30 per cent of women never disclose violence to authorities, these administrative sources capture only a fraction of what is actually happening in a family, at work, or in public life.
To understand the full picture, countries need population-based surveys. These surveys measure the true magnitude, patterns and drivers of violence against women. They rely on trained interviewers, standardized international methodologies and ethically designed questionnaires that ensure anonymity, confidentiality and the safety of every woman participating.
Such surveys provide evidence that governments can trust to design effective policies, strengthen prevention and response services, and monitor progress over time. But they require sustained funding, strong technical expertise, and regular data collection cycles to ensure comparability and continuity.
Significant progress has been made across the region to improve the availability of VAW data. However, only three countries have conducted two rounds of VAW prevalence surveys since 2015 (Albania, Georgia and Kazakhstan) while another seven have completed just one round, leaving gaps in monitoring progress on achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets on ending violence.
A regional effort to bridge the data gap
To address these gaps and strengthen national gender data systems, the regional Joint SDG Fund programme “Empowering Equality: Strengthening Gender Data Systems for Sustainable Development in Europe and Central Asia” – implemented by UN Women, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Development Cooperation Office (UNDCO) – is helping countries generate the robust evidence needed to design better policies, shape effective prevention efforts, allocate resources where they are most needed, improve support for survivors and monitor progress over time.
In Kyrgyzstan and Moldova, the programme is working closely with national statistical offices, government institutions and civil society to conduct new VAW prevalence surveys. These surveys measure physical, sexual, psychological, economic and intimate partner violence, as well as technology‑facilitated abuse. They also assess the impacts of violence on women’s health, well-being and participation, and explore the social norms and attitudes that sustain harmful behaviours.
For front-line service-providers in Kyrgyzstan, the lack of reliable national data has long been a barrier to improving support for survivors.
“People come to us with different problems, but most often these are cases of domestic, physical and sexual violence. As a crisis centre, it is essential for us to understand the level and scale of violence. Yet we still lack the data needed to properly train our specialists, lawyers and psychologists,” says Nazira Turarova, Executive Director of the “Sezim” crisis centre.
To ensure that these data are not only collected but actually used, it is essential to involve decision-makers from the very beginning. Early engagement is critical to align the survey design with national priorities, build institutional ownership, and strengthen the likelihood that the results of the survey will inform laws, services and budget decisions.
“From the preparation stage of the survey, we involved decision-makers, service-providers and shelters for survivors, to ensure that the findings will directly contribute to strengthening the response and improving policies in this area,” says Nadejda Cojocari, Head of Division for Statistics on Health, Social Protection and Justice in the Republic of Moldova.
This early collaboration is creating the conditions for policymakers to draw directly on the findings once the survey is completed.
“These findings will guide us in developing more effective national policies. Evidence-based decisions mean that resources go where they’re most needed to prevent violence and support survivors,” highlights Felicia Bechtold, State Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova.
The launch of VAW prevalence surveys in Kyrgyzstan and Moldova is helping to illuminate realities that have long gone unseen. Expanding these efforts throughout Europe and Central Asia will be critical to shaping stronger policies, and to building societies where all women and girls can live free from violence and discrimination.
*The geographical scope covers 18 countries and territories in the region, including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo (under United Nations Security Council resolution 1244), Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Originally published by UN Women Europe and Central Asia: https://eca.unwomen.org/en/stories/feature-story/2026/03/measuring-the-unseen-bridging-data-gaps-on-violence-against-women-in-europe-and-central-asia
Note:
All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds, and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
