Violence against women (VAW) is widely recognised as a global health problem with a huge social and economic impact throughout the world: one in three women worldwide has suffered physical or sexual violence at some point in her life (WHO, 2017). In Spain, 57.3% of women report having experienced some form of VAW, whether physical, sexual, psychological or economic. VAW has been seriously exacerbated by covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown (United Nations, 2020). Calls to VAW helplines in Spain increased by 60% in the month of April 2020 alone, while online consultations increased by 586% (La Moncloa, 2020). The consequences of VAW are well known: besides the physical harm and health problems involved, it causes psychological and emotional damage in the victim, affecting her integration into the job market and her well-being (González and Rodríguez-Planas, 2020). VAW also impacts the families of victims, particularly the health and development of their offspring (WHO, 2002).

One of the factors contributing to the persistence of VAW can be found in the low rate of reporting it. According to Spanish VAW surveys (2019), 65% of victims do not report their situation. The reporting rate of witnesses is even lower, given that VAW is primarily reported by victims. Reporting it is crucial because it allows victims to access a wide range of social services and legal protection. 

This project has focused on characterising people in their (potential) role as witnesses of VAW, rather than in their (potential) role as victims. The motivation for this study can be found in the fact that there is much room for improvement in the involvement of people in the victim’s environment. Around 55% of VAW victims reveal their situation to a friend (Spanish Survey on VAW, 2015). People in the social environment of victims play a crucial role, not only because they can report it, but also because they can encourage and help victims to do so. Given that witnesses of violence have not directly experienced the emotional and physical impact of the assault, their ability to assess alternatives from a distance may be greater. Moreover, greater witness reporting may act as a deterrent, as potential aggressors may be discouraged if they know that a witness is likely to report them (Rogers et al., 2019). However, many people in the victim’s or aggressor’s environment fail to recognise that the interaction between the victim and aggressor is a VAW situation, and even if they do, the implications (e.g. fear of a reaction from the aggressor towards the witness or victim) may deter witnesses from initiating the reporting procedure. 

In order to analyse the profile of potential witnesses of a VAW situation in a couple, a survey was designed for this study, which was carried out among a sample of people representative of the population of Navarre aged between 18 and 48 years, drawn from the census. A total of 969 people participated in this survey, which complements the Spanish surveys on VAW (2015, 2019) and the survey on social perceptions of VAW (2012) by adding other questions to sociodemographic and violence identification questions, thereby aiming to measure people’s general preferences and focus on the role of the person who may witness VAW. These additional variables focus on obtaining information about possible cooperation with a feminist association, degree of acceptance of issues such as divorce, political orientation or regular attendance of religious services, among others. Questions are also included to assess the person’s ability to identify different types of VAW and knowledge of VAW situations in their environment. This information is particularly relevant in order to design public policies and information and awareness-raising campaigns.

Approximately 30% of all respondents reported that they know a woman in their environment who is suffering or has suffered physical violence. Figure 1 shows the percentage of people who know of a situation of violence and relates this to their sociodemographic and other social characteristics. 

The likelihood of knowing a woman who is experiencing or has experienced physical VAW varies significantly according to the individual’s sociodemographic and social characteristics. Sociodemographic characteristics include gender, nationality and income. For example, 36% of women in the survey reported knowing a woman in their environment who is experiencing or has experienced physical VAW. 24% of men reported knowing a woman in their environment who is or has been subjected to physical VAW. Among foreigners, almost half (43%) know a woman in their environment who is suffering or has suffered physical VAW, while this proportion falls to 29% among Spanish nationals. In terms of income, those with lower purchasing power are more likely to know a woman who is suffering or has suffered physical VAW (39% of people with an income of less than 500 euros compared to 22% of people with an income of more than 2,000 euros). On the other hand, younger people (aged between 18 and 27), single people, those who work with feminist associations, those who regularly attend church or those with a left-wing political orientation are more likely to identify situations of physical VAW in their environment. It is interesting to note that among those who have difficulties in identifying violence, only 18% say they know a woman in their environment who is suffering or has suffered physical VAW. 

A key tool for protection against VAW is the ability to recognise it. In order to be able to report VAW, it is also essential to be able to identify the situation of VAW as a first step. The study enables us to characterise people according to their ability to identify and recognise the various aspects of VAW: economic, controlling, psychological, physical and sexual. The following figures show the percentage of people who recognise various situations of VAW and relate this to the individual’s sociodemographic and other social characteristics. To measure the ability to identify VAW situations, respondents were exposed to a series of situations and asked to indicate whether these situations could constitute an act of VAW. 60% of respondents identify all VAW situations to which they were exposed. 

Figure 2 shows that economic VAW is more difficult to identify among the population (77% of respondents identified it). The situations that were identified as economic VAW were as follows: 

• The woman’s partner prevents her from independently making decisions about family finances or shopping. 

• The woman’s partner uses money, credit card or takes out loans in her name without her consent.

Those most likely to recognise these situations as VAW are women, people of Spanish nationality, those with a higher level of education and those with a left-wing political orientation. 

On the other hand, 87% of respondents identified the following situations as potential cases of controlling VAW:

• The woman’s partner insists on knowing where she is at all times.

• The woman’s partner becomes angry if she talks to someone else.

Figure 3 shows once again that those most likely to recognise these situations as VAW are women, people with a tertiary education, Spanish nationality and a left-wing political orientation. The difference between Spanish and foreigners for this type of controlling VAW is significant: while 88% of Spanish nationals recognise this form of VAW, this proportion falls to 72% among foreigners. 

The population’s ability to recognise other types of VAW, such as physical, sexual and psychological VAW, is greater. In the case of sexual VAW, 96% of respondents identified the following situations as acts of VAW:

• The woman’s partner forces her to have sexual intercourse when she does not want to. 

• The woman’s partner touches her sexually when she does not want it. 

Figure 4 shows that the ability to recognise sexual VAW is higher among people with Spanish nationality, a high level of education and a left-wing political orientation.

With regard to psychological VAW, the majority of people recognise this type of violence. 97% of people in the study recognise that any of the following situations could constitute an act of psychological VAW:

• The woman’s partner often insults her or makes her feel bad. 

• The woman’s partner belittles or humiliates her in front of other people.

Figure 5 shows that the greatest difference in identifying psychological VAW is between Spanish and foreigners. 

Physical violence is probably the most visible and recognised by all types of people. There are therefore practically no differences according to the different characteristics considered, with only nationality being a relevant feature (Figure 6). Specifically, 98% of people in the survey recognise that the following situations could be acts of VAW:

• The woman’s partner throws things at her that could hurt her. 

• The woman’s partner often pushes her or grabs her with force. 

In general terms, it is observed that the ability to recognise situations of economic, controlling and, to a lesser extent, sexual violence varies according to an individual’s characteristics. Physical and psychological violence are the most visible and recognised forms of VAW in society. These results are in line with data published by the Institute for Gender Equality of the Autonomous Community of Navarre in 2023, which shows that the most common type of VAW reported to the police is a combination of physical and psychological violence (53%). It is important to note that reports based solely on psychological violence represent only 17% of the total number of reports in Navarre, despite the fact that the level of identification of psychological violence is very high (97%). This suggests that people are more likely to report this type of violence when it has already escalated into physical violence. It would be necessary to promote early reporting when psychological violence is already occurring and has not yet escalated to physical violence. It can therefore be seen that identifying violence is a necessary step before reporting, but it is not enough: it will be necessary to explore what other factors can encourage more reporting by people who are aware of VAW situations. 

Understanding the characteristics of people who are able to recognise or identify situations of VAW is important when it comes to designing public policies and information and awareness-raising campaigns so that they are adapted to different segments of the population. For example, foreigners or people with a low level of education are less likely to recognise all types of VAW, especially economic and controlling violence. Focusing on this more vulnerable population seems crucial from a policy point of view. The strategy for reaching this population should perhaps be different from that for other populations. Similarly, men are generally less likely to recognise VAW than women, so an appropriate approach should also be taken here. Finally, it is important to note that while the effectiveness of policies tailored to individual characteristics is well documented in the literature (Doss et al., 2019), according to the available evidence, it has not been applied to the study of potential witnesses of VAW. 

This project is based on data obtained from a survey of a representative sample of the population of the Autonomous Community of Navarre in 2023. The study was carried out as part of the research project selected in the Social Research Call 2021: ‘SR21-00338 VAW-TWD: Violence Against Women: The Witness Dilemma’, conducted by Rebeca Echavarri, Ariadna García-Prado and Sara Martínez de Morentin from the Universidad Pública de Navarra and Fernanda Gutiérrez-Navratil from the Universidad de Oviedo. The research has received official support from the Navarre Institute for Equality (INAI), the Navarre Statistics Institute (Nastat) and the Government of Navarre. It has also been recognised as part of the gender equality strategy in the region and was included in the Government of Navarre’s Operational Plan for 2022 and 2023.

DOSS, C. [et al.] (2019): «More than Just a Nudge: Supporting Kindergarten Parents with Differentiated and Personalized Text-Messages», Journal of Human Resources, 54(3), 567-603.

GONZÁLEZ, L.; N. RODRÍGUEZ-PLANAS (2020): «Gender norms and intimate partner violence», Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 178, 223-248.

LA MONCLOA (2020): «Las llamadas al 016 aumentan un 60% durante abril en comparación con el mismo mes de 2019».  

UNITED NATIONS  (ONU) (2020): «The impact of COVID-19 on Women». Policy brief.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (OMS) (2002): «World report on violence and health».

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (OMS) (2017): «Violence against women: Key facts».

ROGERS, E. M. [et al.] (2019): «Taking sides: Gender and third‐party partisanship in disputes», Criminology, 57(4), 579-602.