Prevalence of violence

In 2021 CSB conducted the first Survey on Gender-Based Violence. It is aimed at collecting information on prevalence of various types of violence in Latvia based on common methodology developed by the Eurostat. The results acquired will help policy planners in making data-based decisions for fighting violence and supporting violence victims.

The Survey on Gender-Based Violence helped to acquire wide range of information on various aspects affecting well-being of households and individuals. The collection of statistics covers the main subjects of the information acquired:

• interpersonal violence,
• violence in childhood,
• sexual harassment at work,
• stalking; and
• norms and attitudes in society and awareness of services for violence victims.

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The target population of the survey covers people aged 18–74 living in private households in Latvia. Information is collected only on the person included in the sample.

People residing institutional households (i.e., old people’s homes, boarding schools for disabled children, student hostels, hotels, hospitals, sanatoriums, prisons, etc.) were not surveyed.

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Statistics database

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Data were collected with a sample survey by using questionnaire and methodology developed by Eurostat and adopted to national needs by CSB. The Survey on Gender-Based Violence was conducted within the framework of the EU grant project Survey on Interpersonal and Gender-Based Violence (full-scope survey), agreement No 101017988-2020-LV-GBV Survey.

In the Survey on Gender-Based Violence the following data collection methods were used:

• computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI),
• computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI).

In the Survey on Gender-Based Violence 6 300 people aged 18–74 were surveyed. Respondents were surveyed from mid-August 2021 to early January 2022.

Before the interviews were conducted, a special training for interviewers was organised which engaged a violence expert PhD in philology Zane Linde-Ozola, assistant professor in University of Latvia, Faculty of Humanities. Interviewers found out violence subject specifics – theory, existing studies, things to bear in mind when interviewing possible violence victims, principles to adhere to.

As the survey questions are very personal and sensitive, solitude and undisturbedness of a respondent was one of the pre-conditions to be met. However, the survey was conducted during rapid spread of COVID-19 and strict restrictions imposed to fight it. Knowing that inhabitants spent more time at home than usual, the fulfilment of the solitude and undisturbedness pre-condition was very complicated. Therefore, it may have affected answers to separate questions, especially ones on the violence from an intimate partner.

During the field work period (from 16 to 29 August 2021) respondents were able to submit online questionnaires (CAWI). From 30 August 2021 to 10 January 2022 telephone interviews (CATI) were conducted. Additionally, respondents were able to ask any survey-related questions by calling to a toll-free number or writing to an e-mail address dsva@csp.gov.lv.

The Survey on Gender-Based Violence is a sample survey, and the survey data are extrapolated to the whole target population of the survey.

Microdata were prepared and compiled based on the methodology developed by Eurostat. Completed questionnaires that did not meet the quality criteria set by Eurostat were not included in final databases.