Well-Being and Safety of Women: OSCE-Led Survey on Violence Against Women

This report presents the cross-regional, comparable findings of the OSCE-led Survey on the Well-being and Safety of Women, which was implemented in 2018 in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, Moldova3 and Ukraine. The research was also conducted in Kosovo.

The OSCE-led survey included a quantitative and qualitative component and was undertaken with the goal of providing comparable data on different forms of violence women experience in their childhood and throughout the course of their lives. The research examined violence that women experience in conflict and non-conflict settings, as well as the impact violence has on women, including its lasting consequences. Questions on norms and attitudes connected to violence against women were asked to better understand the underlying causes of violence.

The area covered by this research is diverse and has different historical, social and economic contexts. Rather than focusing on the findings from particular locations, the report aims to provide an overview of women’s experiences and to highlight the issues – often similar – that persist and continue to hamper the well-being and safety of women throughout the area covered by the research.