Sexual violence and rape offences are rising in the EU, new data shows
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Reports of rape and sexual violence surge in the EU as the bloc pushes for a consent-based definition of rape.
Police recorded more than 256,000 sexual violence offences in the EU in 2024, of which 38% were rape offences, according to the latest Eurostat figures.
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Compared with 2023, sexual violence offences increased by 5% and rape by 7%.
In 2024, France, Germany and Sweden recorded the highest numbers of reported sexual violence and rape offences, while Cyprus, Malta and Lithuania recorded the lowest.
Nevertheless, an increase in police-recorded sexual violence offences can indicate greater awareness and improved measures to combat sexual abuse, which can affect reporting rates.
The figures came out just after the European Parliament voted to back a common consent-based definition of rape, known as "only yes means yes".
MEPs said that consent must be assessed in context, including in cases involving violence, abuse of power, intimidation, or vulnerability.
They also demanded adequate support and protection for victims and survivors across the EU.
Prior to this, the EU adopted minimum standards to combat violence against women for the first time in 2024.
However, a proposed article in the standards to create a common definition of rape was dropped after opposition from several member states.
"We have been calling for a common European definition of rape for years", Evin Incir, a Swedish MEP belonging to the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, said in a European Parliament press release.
"More and more governments are recognising the need for this approach — since 2023, France, Finland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have introduced consent-based laws," she said. "Momentum is with us."
While the push for an EU-wide consent-based definition of rape shows that the bloc is serious about tackling the crime, data shows an upward trend in both rape and sexual violence over the past decade.
Between 2014 and 2024, sexual violence offences jumped by 94% and rape offences by 150%.
During this period, sexual violence offences increased continuously by nearly 10% annually on average, and rape offences by 7%.
However, this could again be attributed in part to greater reporting rates stemming from heightened awareness and better reporting channels.
Latvia to quit anti-violence against women treaty?
European countries have different legal terminology and national legislation on rape, even though most of them follow a similar framework under the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention.
The convention aims to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence, signed by all EU member states and other European countries, such as the UK and Norway.
In October last year, the Latvian parliament voted to quit the treaty following complaints by right-wing politicians that it promotes "radical feminism based on the ideology of gender" and threatens traditional family values.
However, President Edgars Rinkēvičs used his suspensive veto power to send it back to parliament for reconsideration, arguing that such a change in international commitments shouldn't be decided so hastily.
Latvia is due to look at the issue again in November, following the country's parliamentary elections in the autumn.
However, Riga is still committed to maintaining protections for women and victims of domestic violence, even if it does withdraw from the convention. Its parliament adopted a declaration asking the government to come up with a comprehensive national law to combat domestic violence, intended as an "alternative" to the convention.
As an EU member, Latvia is also bound by EU directives combating violence against women. They transpose many of the Istanbul Convention's protections into EU law, which Latvia must implement by June 2027, regardless of whether it sticks with the Council of Europe treaty.
At the same time, France ratified an amendment to add consent to the legal definition of sexual assault and rape in October 2025, following the conclusion of the Gisèle Pelicot rape trial the year before.
The case saw 51 men found guilty of sexually assaulting or raping Pelicot while she was unconscious, after being drugged by her husband, Dominique, over the course of a decade.
Previously, rape or sexual abuse had been defined as "any form of sexual penetration committed with the use of violence, coercion, threat or surprise".
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