Intimate Partner Violence
Intimate Partner Violence
(IPV)
The definition is intentionally inclusive, applying to sexual or romantic relationships regardless of marital status or the genders involved. IPV is widely recognised as a major public health problem and is often used as a means of exerting power and control.
Prevalence estimates indicate that roughly one quarter of women and around one tenth of men experience rape, physical assault, and/or stalking by an intimate partner over their lifetime in the United States.
While IPV occurs across racial/ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic groups, minority women experience disproportionately high rates. Additional risk factors include socioeconomic disadvantage (lower income and education), adverse childhood experiences, younger age, unemployment, and sexual minority status.
Despite substantial mental health impacts, survivors’ psychological needs frequently remain unmet due to limited routine screening, stigma, and fear of retaliation, alongside urgent needs for safety and practical resources.
IPV differs from stranger violence because ongoing access and emotional bonds can increase frequency and severity, producing serious injury, trauma, impaired social functioning, and sometimes death. Although possible in any pairing, severe IPV most commonly involves male-perpetrated violence against women
Where you Find it
While IPV occurs across racial/ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic groups, minority women experience disproportionately high rates. Additional risk factors include socioeconomic disadvantage (lower income and education), adverse childhood experiences, younger age, unemployment, and sexual minority status.
Statistics on violence in Europe
Source: Eurostat Crime Statistics 2024. Figures are indicative; verify latest data before publication.
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Around one third of women in the EU have experienced physical or sexual violence in adulthood according to the EU gender-based violence survey (wave 2021)
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When looking at women who have ever had a partner in their lifetime, 18% of these women experienced physical (including threats) or sexual violence by a partner.
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In 2023, sexual violence offences, including rape, continued to rise across the EU.
Looking for Help?
Get an Answer
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Recognizing it
Abuse isn’t only physical violence.
Warning signs include a partner who isolates you from friends and family, monitors your phone or whereabouts, controls money, threatens you or the children or pets, blames you for their behavior, makes you doubt your own memory or sanity (gaslighting), or swings between cruelty and affection.
Emotional and financial control often precede or accompany physical violence, and they’re damaging in their own right. Feeling like you’re constantly “walking on eggshells” is itself a signal worth taking seriously.
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The single most important principle: safety first, not confrontation
The most dangerous period is often when a person tries to leave or challenge the abuser, so the “best response” is rarely to confront them directly. Instead:
If you’re in immediate danger, get to a safe location and call emergency services. In Greece that’s 100 (police) or the EU-wide 112.
Make a quiet safety plan before you act. Identify a safe place you could go, keep a small bag with essentials (ID, documents, medication, some money, a charged phone or spare), memorize or securely store key phone numbers, and agree on a code word with someone you trust. Plan the safest time to leave, ideally when the abuser isn’t present.
Protect your digital trail. Abusers often monitor devices. Use a browser’s private/incognito mode, clear history, or use a trusted friend’s or public device when researching help.
Document what’s happening if you safely can — dates, injuries (photos), messages — which can matter later for protection orders or legal action.
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If someone confides in you
The most helpful response is simple and consistent:
believe them, listen without judgment, and tell them clearly that the abuse is not their fault and that they’re not alone.
Remind them help is available and encourage them to seek assistance and if they agree, you can contact support organizations together.
Avoid pressuring them to leave on your timeline or criticizing the partner harshly; that can backfire and push them away.
Survivors leave when it’s safe for them, and that decision is theirs to make. Keep the door open, stay in touch, and respect their autonomy.
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What generally does not help
Ultimatums, public confrontations of the abuser, telling someone they’re “stupid for staying,” or assuming you fully understand the danger they’re weighing.
Leaving is a process, often involving several attempts, and judgment makes it harder.
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Support resources in Greece
15900: the national SOS helpline for domestic violence, available 24/7, free and confidential, staffed by psychologists, social workers, and lawyers, with services in Greek and English (email sos15900@isotita.gr).
A nationwide network of counseling centers and shelters offers social, psychological, legal, and employment support; the 15900 line can refer you to the nearest one.
100 (police) or 112 for emergencies. You can also report abuse anonymously to the police or prosecutor’s office.
1056: The children’s helpline (The Smile of the Child) if children are involved.
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Recovery is part of the response too
Trauma from IPV — anxiety, self-doubt, difficulty trusting — is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation, not a personal failing.
Counseling, support groups, and time with safe people all help rebuild a sense of self that abuse erodes.
How to ask for help
Organizations, helplines, and support resources.