30.3% of women have been exposed to some type of sexual violence by men with whom they are in a relationship or have had a relationship. There are six and a half million women who have been subjected to physical, sexual, psychological or economic abuse by their partners at some point in their lives. This was stated in the comprehensive survey on violence against women 2025 published by the Ministry of Equality on Wednesday, which is the seventh survey conducted so far and the largest statistical operation carried out in our country regarding sexual violence.
“Sexual violence remains a pervasive and transversal structural reality that affects the lives of many women. It is chronic violence in our society,” said Minister Ana Redondo. According to the type of violence, 12.7% of women over the age of 16 were exposed to physical or sexual violence (9.2% and 7.7%, respectively), which means more than two and a half million women. Nearly 80% confirm that acts of violence occurred on more than one occasion. The survey was conducted on a total of 11,800 women, which, in the minister’s opinion, allows for a “global overview” of sexual violence.
The survey asks about different types of violence, including economic violence, which includes behaviors such as using credit cards, requesting loans in your name without your consent, denying you access to your bank account, and being overly controlling of your spending. The government’s delegate to combat violence against women, Carmen Martínez Berza, said that 11.7% of those surveyed claim to have been subjected to this type of abuse from their partners at some point in their lives, a “silent” but “devastating” violence that “limits their independence and, on many occasions, the possibility of getting rid of the violence.” If a copy of the alimony is added to the account when there are joint sons or daughters, the percentage increases to 13.5%.
The overall survey published on Wednesday also reflects that 20.9% of women residing in Spain have experienced psychological violence at some point in their lives and 25.1% have experienced psychological violence of control. Statistics show that violence intersects and in many cases occurs at the same time: in almost all cases (96.6%) in which physical or sexual violence occurred, there was also psychological or economic violence.
The study analyzes whether women reported the violence they experienced and concludes that only 16.8% of those who were victims of some type of violence had themselves or someone close to them gone to the police or court. This number increases when they are asked whether they have resorted to any type of assistance services, such as victim assistance points, a situation to which 41.4% of them answered positively. The majority (71.7%) told someone close to them about what happened. The report estimates that more than one million children and adolescents live in homes where women suffer some type of violence.
“Sexual violence is also a public health issue,” Birza cautioned when presenting data on the consequences of violence on women’s health. Thus, nearly half of those who disclose that they are or have been victims at some point in their lives (1.6 million women) are still currently suffering physical or psychological consequences. Victims are in “significantly worse health” than those who are not: among those who have experienced physical or sexual violence by a partner or ex-partner, they are 11 times more likely to attempt suicide.
14.5% are victims of sexual violence
The comprehensive survey analyzes what happens outside of a spouse or former partner and finds that 14.5% of women living in Spain over the age of 16 (three million) have experienced an incident of sexual violence at some point in their lives. Statistics revealed that 7.4% of the cases, or half of them, occurred when they were less than 15 years old, which also indicates that 98.3% of the victims confirm that the assailant was a man.
If the relationship between the aggressor and the victim is analysed, it is concluded, as in previous studies, that most acts of violence were committed by known men, especially in the case of the “more dangerous” types, as described by the survey. For this reason, nine out of ten survey respondents who were victims of rape at some point point to someone in their environment as the perpetrator: a quarter directly to a family member, while 62% point to a friend or acquaintance.