Population size:
37,974,874 [1]
Number of people experiencing domestic abuse each year:
Women who have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime: 13%.
Physical and/or Sexual Intimate Partner Violence in the last 12 months against women: 2%.
Based only on complaints filed with police, in 2016 almost 67,000 women in Poland were victims of domestic violence. According to the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, around 4 million Polish women and girls have experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of 15.[2]
Human Rights Watch reports Lifetime Non-Partner Sexual Violence against women: 2% [3]
No research on male victims or other gender identities.
Cost of domestic abuse to the economy each year:
The European Institute for Gender Equality has estimated that the cost of intimate partner violence against women in Poland could amount to EUR 8 billion per year.
Estimated % change due to COVID-19:
In March 2020, the number of calls on our helpline for victims of domestic violence went up by 50%,” says a coordinator at the Women’s Rights Centre (CPK), an NGO that supports victims. [4]
Current law and policy:
Poland commits to ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
Poland commits to ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CAHVIO) by harmonizing Polish law with the requirements of the Convention in all aspects regarding prevention and combating of violence against women and domestic violence, mainly focusing on education, appropriate data collection and victim support. In particular, Poland commits to changing the criminal code so that all rape cases are persecuted ex officio and criminal proceedings are no longer wholly dependent on the victim's complaint.
Sources
[1] The World Bank, (1)
[2] UN Women, “Global Database on Violence Against Women – Poland”, (evaw-global-database.unwomen.org)
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