UniSAFE D3.2 Report on the European Policy Baseline

Theorising Gender-Based Violence Policies: A 7P Framework

“…This is the logic behind the P for Prevalence taking centre in the model. The findings from the national policy analysis (Fajmonová et al 2021, pp. 66-104) and institutional policy mapping (Huck et al 2022) underscore how poorly addressed data collection in European higher education and research is.…”

“…Intersectionality has therefore been a theoretical cornerstone in the research design of UniSAFE. The analysis of national and institutional policies points to a strikingly lacking intersectional understanding of the nature of gender-based violence (Fajmonová et al 2021;Huck et al 2022). The analysis of national policy in EU member states shows that only eight EU member states in any manner reference different grounds of inequality, and when they do, it is race, sexual orientation and gender identity that are addressed more frequently, followed by disability/health and age.…”

“…The analysis of national policy in EU member states shows that only eight EU member states in any manner reference different grounds of inequality, and when they do, it is race, sexual orientation and gender identity that are addressed more frequently, followed by disability/health and age. This maps onto the vulnerable groups mentioned in the laws and strategies, where non-binary staff and students, ethnic minorities, and staff with disabilities are the ones that are mentioned more frequently-but still only in three national or regional laws in the EU-27 (Fajmonová et al 2021). The situation is similar at the institutional level, where only 12 institutions out of 45 addressed intersectionality or different axes of inequality in their policies (Huck et al 2022).…”

“…Thus, in sum, there is an overall lack of attention to intersectionality and a variable coverage of the different Ps, with some being seriously underdeveloped in both national and institutional policymaking and measures (Fajmonová et al 2021;Huck et al 2022;Humbert et al 2022). While this may not be surprising considering the emphasis placed by the earlier frameworks on a limited number of Ps, the findings point to important weaknesses of current systems.…”

“…The qualitative work (Yellow Window 2023a, 2023bBlazyte and Pilinkaite Sotirovic 2023;Fajmonová et al 2021;Huck et al 2022;Ranea-Triviño et al 2022) has yielded novel aspects and considerations that call for attention and may currently not be given the importance they deserve when it comes to setting up comprehensive policy frameworks. They are of relevance not only in the higher education and research sectors, but beyond, and constitute overarching principles that inform the implementation of the model: attention to power, intersectional inequality and victim-centred approaches as well as perpetrator accountability, proportionality, patterns, perspectives and parties.…”