Gross violation of a woman’s integrity

The offence of gross violation of a woman’s integrity was introduced on 1 July 1998 as part of the work to combat men’s violence against women in intimate relationships.

During the first years following the introduction of the offence, the numbers of reported, cleared, and convicted offences increased. However, since 2009 there has been a decline in both the number of reported offences and the number of convictions.

The report focuses on answering three central questions:

• The first is why the number of reported offences of gross violation of a woman’s integrity declined during the period 2009–2015.
• The second question examined is why the clearance rate for gross violation of a woman’s integrity declined during the period 2005–2017.
• The third main question addressed in the report is why the number of convictions for gross violation of a woman’s integrity declined during the period 2009–2017.