Since its inception, the FRA has carried out surveys and published reports which are available online. A full list of publications is given on Publications & resources > Publications. This section discusses reports that have seen significant attention from outside observers.
Survey: Violence against Women In March 2014, FRA published a major survey on
violence against women, based on face-to-face interviews with over 42,000 women from across the 28 Member States of the EU. The survey asked about their experiences of physical,
sexual and psychological
violence including incidents of
intimate partner violence ('
domestic violence'). Questions also asked about incidents of
stalking,
sexual harassment and
online harassment as well as their experience of
violence in childhood. According to the responses of the report some of the key findings indicated that: • 33% of women had experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15; • 22% had experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a partner; • 5% had been
raped, and; • 33% had childhood experiences of physical or sexual violence at the hands of an adult.
Lithuanian Law on the Protection of Minors In September 2009 the EP adopted a resolution condemning a "Law on the Protection of Minors", which was then under discussion in Lithuania, as "homophobic" and requested the FRA to issue a legal opinion on whether the draft law was compatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Lithuanian Parliament responded by adopting a resolution that condemned the EP's resolution as an "illegal act" (pointing to the fact that the FRA explicitly has no mandate to examine the legislation adopted by Member States) and requesting the Lithuanian Government to take legal action against the EP before the
European Court of Justice.
Survey: EU-MIDIS (Minorities and Discrimination) In 2009, FRA released a survey on the experiences of
discrimination,
racist crime, and policing of
minority group and
immigration groups in the EU. The survey was based on the responses of 23,000 individuals from selected ethnic minority and immigrant groups, and additionally, 5,000 people from the majority population living in the same areas as minorities in 10
Member States. Key findings of the survey include that: • 55% of respondents thought that discrimination based on ethnic origin is widespread in their country, with 37% saying that they had experienced discrimination in the past 12 months; • 12% said they had personally experienced a racist crime in the past 12 months, however 80% did not report the incident to the police; • Roma reported the highest levels of discrimination, with one in two respondents saying that they were discriminated against in the last 12 months, and; • high levels of discrimination were also mentioned by Sub-Saharan Africans (41%) and North Africans (36%). A second round of the survey (EU-MIDIS II) is currently underway, and the results will be published in 2016. This will collect comparable data, and assess the impact of national anti-discrimination and equality legislation and policies in the EU.
Survey: European Union lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender survey In 2013, FRA conducted an
online survey to identify how
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual and
transgender (
LGBT) people living in the European Union experience the fulfilment of their fundamental rights. This followed a 2009 report on
homophobia and
discrimination on grounds of
sexual orientation or
gender identity which identified the need for comparative data on this issue. The results reflect the experiences of more than 93,000 individuals who completed the online survey across Europe. The aim was to support the development of more effective laws and policies to fight discrimination, violence and harassment, improving equal treatment across society. From the findings, it was noted that: • 2 out of 3 LGBT respondents were hid or disguised being LGBT at school; • 19% of respondents felt discriminated against at work or when looking for a job, despite legal protection under EU law, and; • More than 1/4 of LGBT people who answered the survey had been attacked or threatened with violence in the last five years, while more than half of these did not report the incident. A second round of the survey (EU-LGBTI II) is currently underway, and the results will be published in 2020. This will collect comparable data in order to compare the results with the prior survey.
Methodology The online survey methodology was chosen to ensure the anonymity of ‘hard-to-reach’ or ‘closeted’ LGBT populations, to encourage reporting of sensitive or negative experiences, such as criminal victimisation, and eliminate bias, which could have been introduced by telephone or face-to-face interview approaches. Multiple responses were discouraged through the length (approximately 30 minutes) and complexity of the survey, while the input process in the different countries was closely monitored for falsifications. The results are not intended to be representative of all LGBT people in the EU, but provide the largest collection of empirical evidence on the experiences of LGBT people in Europe to date. Data about the perceptions of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity of the general public was not included in the survey, as it is already collected by
Eurobarometer. The analysis of the results in the EU LGBT survey – Main results report compares some Eurobarometer data with the EU LGBT survey results.
Survey: Roma The Agency has a multi-annual Roma programme to allow it "to make regular reports on progress made and provide evidence based advice to the EU institutions and Member States based on data systematically collected across the EU". Data from the 2011 Roma survey is available via an online data explorer tool . ==Publications of the EUMC==