EXPERIENCE OF EU MEMBER STATES IN COMBATING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

Abstract

The article provides a constitutional and comparative legal analysis of institutional models for combating gender-based violence (GBV) in the member states of the European Union. The aim of the study is to identify effective institutional approaches to combating GBV and to develop a typology of models taking into account constitutional and legal prerequisites and structural advantages. The research is based on defined functional comparison criteria: the system of protective orders, the scope of police discretionary powers, the specialization of judicial institutions, the organizational structure of support for victims, the legal status of offender programs, the use of electronic monitoring, and the level of interagency coordination in accordance with the “4P” principle. For the comparative analysis, four EU member states – Spain, Austria, Sweden, and Croatia – were selected in order to represent different approaches to the institutional organization of GBV prevention. Based on the analysis of the models in Spain, Austria, Sweden, and Croatia, a typology of institutional approaches to combating GBV has been developed, and their constitutional and legal prerequisites, structural advantages, and limitations have been identified. Directions for improving Ukrainian legislation are substantiated, taking into account the standards of the Istanbul Convention and Directive (EU) 2024/1385. The methodological basis of the research includes the comparative legal method, institutional analysis, a functional approach to assessing the effectiveness of legal mechanisms, and the doctrine of positive obligations of the state in the field of human rights protection. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the development of a constitutionally oriented typology of models for combating GBV in EU member states; substantiation of the relationship between the level of institutional integration and the implementation of the state’s positive obligations; development of an implementation matrix for Ukraine taking into account European standards; and demonstration that the effectiveness of combating GBV is determined not only by criminalization but primarily by the systemic nature of the constitutional and legal protection mechanism