New publication on the measurement of violence against women and men
HEUNI Senior Researcher Markku Heiskanen has contributed to a project that developed a measurement framework for violence. The framework addresses the best way to conceptualise and define violence and gender, the units of measurement that should be used, and how data should be collected. The work will be published in January 2017 by Policy Press, University of Bristol, under the title “The Concept and Measurement of Violence against Women and Men".
The project went beyond just ‘collecting data’ and creates a common framework for use by all policy actors. It draws on theoretical work on gender and violence and on experience in the practical challenges of measurement. The book builds on research and policy analysis conducted by the authors, including studies funded by the European Commission, European Parliament, European Institute for Gender Equality, UK Home Office, UN Division for the Advancement of Women, and WHO. The book is both a guide to international debate on the measurement of gender-based violence for policy purposes and a handbook on how those measurements can be best achieved.
In the introduction the authors state that: “This book reviews and consolidates new developments in theory and policy to produce a new measurement framework and indicators for violence against women and men relevant to the contemporary world. Mainstreaming gender into official statistics on violence, especially violent crime, is the purpose of this book." The measurement framework is designed to meet the current policy objectives of among others: The European Union, UN (including the Sustainable Development Goals), the Council of Europe (Istanbul Convention), and the UK Office for National Statistics.
