Gender Equality Index 2025: what the new data means for our work

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) released its Gender Equality Index 2025 on December 2, 2025, using a new methodology that includes updated data on work, money, knowledge, time, power and health, as well as online violence against women.

With an EU score of 63.4, gender equality remains at least 50 years away at the current pace. This year’s findings provides essential insights in health, youth engagement and violence prevention that strengthen our strategic priorities for the elimination of female genital mutilation.

Health: a foundation for participation and equality

The index emphasises that the health domain is key to understanding gender equality, since good health is a prerequisite for participation in all other areas measured by the index. Despite this, the health domain shows stagnation, and persistent inequalities remain.

One in four women believe men receive better treatment from medical staff, a perception particularly strong among young women. These findings reinforce the importance of gender responsive health services, including survivor centred care and training for professionals working with affected communities.

Youth: a growing tolerance for abuse

The index also reveals a troubling rise in tolerance for abusive behaviours among women, with young men showing the highest acceptance. It shows that:
- young women increasingly recognise that bias limits their opportunities
- young men are less willing to acknowledge gender inequalities
- online backlash and regressive narratives are shaping attitudes early

This generational divide underscores the need for early intervention, including education that builds digital literacy, challenges harmful stereotypes and promotes diverse and positive models of masculinity. Youth work must remain a core component of gender equality strategies in 2026.

Violence: persistent, normalised and intersecting

The index confirms that gender based violence remains widespread, severe and under reported across the EU. Younger women continue to face the highest levels of physical and sexual violence, while forms of coercive control and harassment remain disturbingly normalised. One in three women in the EU report experiencing physical and/or sexual violence, with more than half of respondents suffering health consequences. However, nearly one third of victims never disclose their experience, particularly younger women.

Violence intersects with other inequalities including poverty, racism, disability and migration status. This means that groups such as older women, migrants, women with disabilities and LGBTIQ individuals face heightened risk. These insights reinforce the need for intersectional, survivor centred approaches in all prevention and response strategies.

How this strengthens our work moving forward

Although FGM is not mentioned directly, the findings of the index strongly support our framing: achieving gender equality requires addressing health inequalities, transforming harmful norms early and tackling violence in all its forms, including those rooted in intersecting inequalities. We call on the EU and all Member States to increase their funding in the prevention of gender-based violence and to ensure equality, through the full implementation of key policies such as the Istanbul Convention and the Directive to combat violence against women and domestic violence.

Our Cyprus member, Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) reaction to Cyprus ranking last in the index

The Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) expresses deep alarm at Cyprus’s ranking in the 2025 Gender Equality Index, where the country scores 47.6 out of 100, the lowest score in the European Union and far below the EU average of 63.4.  Cyprus performs worst in the domains of time, power, and knowledge, domains that point to entrenched gender norms in our society, as well as systemic policy failure.  Discover their full press release here.

We will engage with the Cyprus representation to the EU to ensure that under the EU Council presidency in the first 2026 semester these worrying trends be extensively and adequately addressed,