From childhood to adulthood, in relationships and at work, women are more frequently victims of physical, psychological and sexual violence than men. This is what we learn from the vast Genesis study (Gender and security) unveiled on Monday by the Ministry of the Interior (see box).
Before the age of 15, more than one woman in five (21%) declares having suffered violence in her family, whether of a psychological, physical or sexual nature. Men are 17%. Inside and outside the family sphere, women are still more exposed to violence, particularly sexual violence, than men (6% or 5% against 2%). Finally, when they are in a relationship, women are three times more likely than men to report physical or sexual assault by their partner than men (15.9%, or 3.6 million women, compared to 5.6% ).
Sexual violence five times more common among women
“Women accumulate a greater diversity of violent situations, more frequently report the potentially most serious types of violence and suffer acts over longer periods and at higher frequencies than men”, notes the study. Sexual violence is thus five times more frequent among women (16.8%) than men (3.3%) when the perpetrator is neither the partner nor an ex-partner.
Rape and attempted rape outside the marital sphere are reported by two out of five victims and in almost equal proportions among men (37%) and women (41%). At work, sexual and sexist behavior concerns three times more women than men during their professional life.
They are for example 80% to have suffered “inappropriate or insistent looks”, 31% to have received “inappropriate proposals for private appointments” and as many to declare unwanted touching “on parts of the body, kisses, hugs”.
This large survey, conducted in 2021 and called “Genese” (Gender and security), is based on the responses of nearly 109,000 people aged 18 to 74, out of an initial sample of 169,060 where women were overrepresented (70%), explains the statistics service of the ministry. This is a so-called “victimization” survey which makes it possible to collect data that escapes the police and gendarmerie services when the victims give up filing a complaint.