Crime, safety and victims' rights – Fundamental Rights Survey

FRA opinion 1

More than 22 million people in the EU experienced physical violence in the year before the survey.

Physical violence is a worrying reality across the EU, as the survey data show. In line with the Victims’ Rights Directive, Member States should increase their efforts to ensure access to justice for all victims of crime, including the most vulnerable, by providing victims with appropriate information, support and protection, and by enabling their participation in criminal proceedings.

The rate of physical violence experienced by young people is much higher than in other age groups. This warrants action by EU Member States to ensure that young people are informed about their rights and where to turn after experiencing physical violence. In this age group, some experiences of violence can occur at school or in tertiary education settings, involving victims’ peers. That makes it important to adopt targeted measures for this context. 

EU Member States should develop targeted measures to prevent physical violence against persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people, who experience higher rates of physical violence – and harassment – than others. In addition to physical violence in general, these groups are susceptible to hate-motivated incidents, as FRA’s targeted surveys with specific groups highlight. That can have a negative impact on the feeling of safety of these groups.

FRA opinion 2

Women experience physical violence disproportionately at home, while men often experience violence in public settings.

EU Member States should – in addition to measures needed to encourage and empower these victims to report incidents of crime (see opinion 5) – consider introducing specific measures to ensure targeted support for victims of violence in the domestic sphere. This is needed to ensure that the rights guaranteed by the Victims’ Rights Directive are effective in practice for those – disproportionately women – who experience violence in the home, from family members or relatives, and who therefore struggle to obtain support to break the cycle of violence, and to access justice. This can include training and specific guidelines for professionals who are in contact with victims (such as healthcare professionals or teachers) on how to detect crime that occurs in the home, and how to deal with it appropriately. In this context, the European Commission is also encouraged to draw on the expertise and use the potential of the newly established Victims’ Rights Platform.

The EU and all EU Member States that have not yet done so are encouraged to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). In parallel, EU institutions and Member States are encouraged to draw on data from the Fundamental Rights Survey, and FRA’s previous survey on violence against women, when exploring gaps in existing law, alongside ways to more effectively address gender-based violence through the enactment of current law and policy – in alignment with the Commission’s plan of action set out in the EU strategy on victims’ rights as well as the Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025.

Recognising men’s disproportionate role as perpetrators of violence, and in line with Article 84 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, on crime prevention, the EU should promote and support Member State action in the field of crime prevention. Such action would aim at introducing measures to educate boys and young men in a way that enables them to resolve conflicts without violence or abusive conduct, and to treat girls and women – as well as other boys and men – with respect, drawing on relevant human rights values including human dignity, equality and non-discrimination.

Member States are encouraged to develop criminal sanctions that have a potential to rehabilitate male offenders and to support them in developing as accountable and respectful persons. This could include anti-violence training that pays due attention to gender roles and stereotypes with respect to male aggression. Those Member States that have not done so already are encouraged to consider introducing gender-sensitive anti-violence training as a criminal sanction, with the aim of reducing rates of repeat victimisation, in line with Article 18 of the Victims’ Rights Directive.

FRA opinion 3

Almost 110 million people in the EU experienced various forms of harassment in the year before the survey.

In view of the widespread nature of harassment, the EU should consider reviewing the existing legislative and policy responses to harassment, including sexual harassment, and all possible settings where the harassment takes place (including on the internet), encompassing harassment beyond the workplace and the educational domain.

In view of the disproportional impact of harassment – in particular cyberharassment – on young people, EU Member States should ensure that its victims have access to simple and effective methods to report incidents and have them investigated. The EU can support Member States in this regard by helping to ensure, for example through the future Digital Services Act, provision of harmonised rules on tackling illegal content online – including incitement to violence, hatred and discrimination.

In view of the evidence presented in this and several other FRA reports on the impact of hate-motivated harassment on various groups in society, EU Member States should ensure that they apply in full the protection provided by the EU Victims’ Rights Directive, which treats all victims of hate crime equally, regardless of the attribute invoked by offenders. This would be in line with the principle of non-discrimination, according to which criminal law measures should cover equally all grounds of discrimination covered by Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. It would also be in line with the Commission’s plans to propose to extend the list of Euro crimes to include all forms of hate crime and hate speech.

FRA opinion 4

One in six people (16 %) in the EU experienced consumer fraud in the year before the survey.

The EU and Member States should ensure continued attention to property crime, including cross-border crime, using various established EU-level networks, including the EU Crime Prevention Network. In this context, they should also consider carrying out awareness-raising campaigns and develop tools to prevent property crimes, including burglaries, alongside online banking and payment card fraud.

Member States should ensure that they effectively implement existing EU law in this area, including on combating fraud as well as consumer laws, in practice. The survey results could be used to guide their efforts. For example, EU Member States could consider either establishing or enhancing existing specialist teams to carry out effective investigations in cases of online fraud, ensuring that victims of online offences can report incidents easily. They should also consider actions to align consumer protection with today’s realities, notably the ease of conducting cross-border and online transactions, in relation to (online) consumer fraud, in line with the New Consumer Agenda 2020-2025.

National authorities responsible for implementing and monitoring the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities should take particular note of the higher rates of burglary, online banking and payment card fraud, and consumer fraud among people with limitations in their usual activities (due to a health problem or disability), to address the challenges of some of the most vulnerable in society.

FRA opinion 5

Most incidents of physical violence and harassment are not reported to the police.

EU Member States should consider introducing specific measures to encourage and empower people to report incidents of crime – in particular, incidents of violence and harassment, as the rate of reporting these crimes is lower than for some other crimes. This is an important condition for ensuring effective access to justice, because in this way victims of crime can be informed about their rights and support available to them. Measures to encourage people to report crime should take note of the survey results about the reasons for not reporting, and about lower rates of satisfaction among non-citizens when they do report harassment incidents.

When introducing such measures, EU Member States should recognise that a relationship between perpetrator and victim affects the likelihood of reporting crimes to the police, such as incidents of domestic or intimate partner violence. As outlined in opinion 2, every effort should be made to encourage and facilitate reporting of such crimes and to allow the victims to break the cycle of repeat victimisation. In this context, Member States should also consider opportunities to provide assistance and advice on rights to those victims of crime who contact services other than the police, such as medical service providers, in the aftermath of an incident.

In recording crime incidents and reporting on the situation in the country, EU Member States could make use of third-party reporting mechanisms to capture more incidents. Some of these incidents would otherwise not come to the attention of the police, such as incidents that victims do not – for any reason – perceive as ‘serious’ enough to contact the police.

FRA opinion 6

More than one in two people in the EU would be willing to intervene when witnessing a crime. Yet one in five would not be at all willing to step in.

EU Member States could consider strengthening awareness-raising efforts to highlight individual responsibility when witnessing a crime, which could enhance rates of reporting to the authorities.

Member States are encouraged to set up campaigns that strengthen the readiness of witnesses to intervene in defence of the dignity and rights of others when they are in peril, while ensuring the safety of witnesses.

To further facilitate victims’ access to justice, Member States could consider having in place effective third-party reporting mechanisms that would encourage witnesses of crime who are not willing to engage with the criminal justice system – such as by calling the police – to contact a third party, such as civil society organisations. Member States could also consider strengthening access to alternative ways to report crime in person, such as by email, video recordings or online electronic forms.

FRA opinion 7

Women, more than men, avoid places and situations due to concern about being assaulted or harassed. This reduces their opportunities to take part in public life.

EU Member States need to recognise that concern about personal safety has a negative impact, particularly on women. They often feel the need to limit where they go and what they do in response to the threat of physical and sexual assault and harassment, as shown earlier by FRA in its survey report on violence against women. Authorities working in crime prevention can draw further on the results of the current survey, to enact measures that ensure equality of access to public space, such as approaches to prevent crime and reduce fear of crime through environmental design.

EU Member States’ measures to improve people’s feelings of safety should focus on groups in the population that disproportionately feel concerned for their safety, leading them to avoid places and situations perceived as potentially unsafe. Alongside women, this includes people with lower educational levels, those who are unemployed, and people who struggle to make ends meet.

Crime surveys consistently show that most victims do not report incidents of violence to the police. As a result, authorities have an incomplete picture of the situation based on statistics of police recorded incidents alone. In addition, as countries use different definitions of crime and different ways of counting crime, existing police statistics are not comparable between countries.

This is the first EU-wide survey to collect comparable data on people’s experiences of crime and safety. It complements official statistics by capturing data on crime incidents, including those that people do not report to the police.

Authorities working with crime victims can draw on the survey findings to assess the effectiveness of existing measures, and to identify gaps, in protection and assistance provided to victims of crime. They can also evaluate steps taken to prevent victimisation.

FRA’s survey captured the views of old and young, men and women and people from different backgrounds. This provides a rich source of data on how the general population – and particular more vulnerable groups in society – experience crime.

• Over one in 20 (6%) people in the EU experienced physical violence in the year before the survey. This corresponds to over 22 million people.
• The survey results reveal stark differences between countries and groups in society.
• Young people (16–29 years old) are at greater risk of violent crime. Close to one in four young people (23%) experienced physical violence in the five years before the survey. In other age groups, it is fewer than one in 10.
• Ethnic minorities (22%), LGBTI people who identify as other than heterosexual (19%), and people with disabilities or serious health problems (17%) all experience high rates of violence.

• Almost one in three (29%) people in the EU experienced harassment in the year before the survey. This corresponds to over 110 million people.
• The survey results reveal stark differences between countries and groups in society.
• Three in five young people aged 16-29 years (61%) experienced harassment in the five years before the survey and 27% faced cyberharassment (that is, harassment including emails or text messages that were offensive or threatening, or having offensive or threatening comments about you on the internet, for example on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram).
• People who identify as other than heterosexual (57%), non-EU citizens (54%), and people with disabilities or serious health problems (50%) all experience high rates of harassment.

• Male victims of non-sexual physical violence mostly (42%) do not know the perpetrator. But for women, it is most often a family member or relative (32%). For men, most incidents of non-sexual physical violence are in public places (39%), like streets or parks, whereas for women the incidents most often occur at home (37%).
• Across all age groups, women report higher rates of physical sexual violence, compared with men. • One in two (51%) men say that physical (non-sexual) incidents did not have psychological consequences, compared with 30% of women.
• Overwhelmingly, men are perpetrators of physical violence. 
• One in five women victims of harassment (18%) described the incident as sexual compared with 6% of men. People they did not know were responsible for 72% of sexual harassment of women and 57% took place in public.

• Nearly one in 10 (8%) people in the EU experienced a burglary in the five years before the survey.
• People with a disability or a serious health problem, or those who belong to an ethnic minority experience higher rates of burglary than others.

• Nearly one in 10 (8%) people in the EU experienced online banking or payment card fraud in the five years before the survey. The variation between countries is likely to reflect national differences in online banking.
• One in four people (26%) in the EU were victims of consumer fraud online – being cheated or misled about goods, items or services purchased – in the five years before the survey.
• Young people and those with higher levels of education experienced greater rates of online fraud, possibly due to them using more online shopping.
• People with disabilities or serious health problems suffer higher rates of fraud. Some 14% were victims of online banking or payment fraud compared to 6% of people without disabilities, in the five years before the survey. This also applies to consumer fraud: 36% of people with disabilities or serious health problems were victimised, compared with 23% without.

• Crime reporting remains low with only 30% of people in the EU reporting incidents of physical violence and 11% harassment incidents to the police.
• Groups that tend to experience more hate crime – minorities, LGBTI people and people with disabilities – more often report incidents of violence.
• Although more people (60%) report cases of physical violence when the incident was sexual, reporting is lower when the incident involves a family member or relative (22%).
• People also tend to report burglaries (72%) and online banking or payment card fraud (95%) more often, although they often report fraud to other authorities than police. High reporting rates for these crimes could be due to the prospect of financial compensation.
• Often victims did not consider incidents of violence and harassment serious enough to merit reporting. Among the reasons for not reporting crime, one in four (23%) of victims who were injured thought the police would do nothing and 14% do not trust the police.

• More than one in two (54%) people in the EU would be willing to intervene when seeing someone hit their partner on the street.
• Nearly one in five (17%) people are unwilling to give evidence in court, even when asked, after witnessing someone hit their partner on the street. However, these results vary considerably between countries.
• People’s willingness to engage with the criminal justice system, by calling the police or giving evidence in court, is lower among older people, those with lower levels of education, and people who struggle to make ends meet.

• Around six in 10 people worry about online banking or payment card fraud (63%) or theft of personal items such as a mobile phone, wallet or purse (62%). 54% worry about burglary and 47% worry about terrorism.
• Rates of worry about crime are higher among women, people with less education, the unemployed and those who struggle to make ends meet. This can be due to the increased impact crime has for people in these groups, who find it more difficult to recover from crime, financially and psychologically.
• Nearly two in three (64%) women avoid going to places where there are no other people around – and nobody to help if they were assaulted or harassed – compared with 36% of men. 41% of women avoid being alone with someone they know, for fear of assault or harassment, compared with 25% of men.

FRA calls on the EU and Member States to use the findings to guide their crime prevention and victim support strategies. In particular, it calls for Member States to:

1. Ensure access to justice: Countries should provide all victims, including the most vulnerable, with appropriate information, support and protection, and enable their participation in criminal proceedings. This also applies to online settings.
2. Offer targeted support: Countries should pay particular attention to the specific needs of various groups to better protect them from violence and inform them about their rights in ways that they understand.
3. Support women better: Countries should ensure a more gender-sensitive when it comes to legal sanctions, education and training, protection and support for victims’ rights. This includes crime prevention through educating men, who are mostly the perpetrators.
4. Facilitate crime reporting: Countries need to do more to encourage and make it easier for people to report crimes. This includes using other avenues, like civil society or healthcare services to capture incidents of crime, to inform victims about their rights and refer them to other services that can help.

The survey was open to individuals aged 16 years and older who have lived in the survey country at least 1 year before the survey. In each country, a randomly selected sample of the population was contacted and invited to participate in the survey, to make sure that the results are representative of what people in the country experience and think.

The survey asked respondents about a wide range of issues. These include: personal security and safety; tolerance and equality; rights awareness and responsibilities; personal discrimination; everyday life experiences and technology. It also collected information on socio-demographic characteristics.
The results published today examine people’s experiences as victims of crime. The report focuses on physical violence, harassment, and property crime such as burglary, misuse of someone’s online bank account or payment cards, or consumer fraud. It examines how often people report crimes to the police, and their willingness to intervene, report to the police or give evidence in court if they witness a crime happening to someone else. It also looks at the impact of crime on people’s behaviour, their feeling of safety and concern about crime.

The survey was carried out across the 27 EU Member States, the United Kingdom and North Macedonia from January to October 2019.

The survey provides reliable and comparable data on the views and experiences of people across the EU. It involves a combination of face-to-face and online data collection, as appropriate in each country, to reach a representative sample of the total population.

In 19 countries, trained interviewers contacted the respondents in person. They interviewed the respondents as well as asked them to complete selected parts of the survey directly, using a tablet computer or laptop.

In 10 countries, respondents were asked to complete the questionnaire online. They received letters by mail inviting them to participate in the survey.

In France and Germany, already existing online panels were used to invite people to take part in the survey. In these two countries, quotas ensured that the sample corresponded with the structure of the total population in terms of age, gender, employment status, education and region.

Ipsos MORI colllected the data on behalf of FRA, in cooperation with Statistics Netherlands (CBS) in the Netherlands, the Centre des Technologies de l'Information de l'Etat (CTIE) in Luxembourg and Statistics Austria in Austria.

The final survey methodology used in each country depended on the method best suited for each country. This choice was based on an expert consultation, a feasibility study, pretesting and an earlier pilot study. The use of tailored data collection methods ensures comparability of the results across countries and different survey modes.

In total 34,948 people completed the survey. Some 1,000 people completed the questionnaire in each country, except Germany and France, where almost 3,000 participants completed the survey as online panels were used.

The survey respondents are people who were randomly selected to achive representative results that can be generalised to describe the situation in each country and in the EU as a whole. Within each country, people from rural as well as urban areas were asked to complete the survey, according to the available official statistics.

The results are representative at the EU and national level for people who are 16 years or older.

Professional interviewers, trained to ensure confidentiality, carried out the face-to-face interviews. Online data collection, on the other hand, allowed respondents to complete the survey when and where they wanted. The survey data was stored securely and later anonymised. FRA deleted personal data used during the data collection. The final dataset does not contain any personal information that would allow respondents to be identified. The survey results are presented in tables and graphs which aggregate the results for a large number of respondents. This ensures that individuals cannot be recognised.

FRA will release the results in dedicated survey reports, as well as integrated into various other FRA reports. The survey results are also available through an online data explorer.

It also aims to make the microdata and full dataset available in 2021-2022.

The external contracts for the survey, including the pilot phase, cost €4,000,986. Lowering costs while being inclusive and obtaining representative results for all countries was a consideration in chosing the national survey methods.

This report is one in a series drawing on the survey results.

FRA does not rank EU Member States in its reports. However, FRA’s reports present key results by country, and people can use the survey’s data explorer to see more individual country results relative to other countries with respect to specific survey questions.