Adapted from Vintere, A., Castellani, A., Ahrens, A., Zascerinska, J. (2026). Key Competencies for Rewriting the Narrative on Gender-Based Violence in Rural Areas for Sustainable Social Development. The Annual 32 International Scientific Conference "Research for Rural Development" at Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technology, Jelgava, Latvia. 13-14 May 2026.

 

Sustainable social development in the European Union countries is at the heart of the EU 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (EUR-Lex, 2021).

Sustainable social development means resilient society and attractive places to live and work (European Commission Regional and Urban Policy, 2026). Particularly, the European Union focuses on the implementation of a ‘Long-term Vision for Rural Areas’ to 2040, aiming to make them stronger, connected, resilient, and prosperous (European Union, 2021). 

Acceleration of sustainable social development in the European Union countries requires that all kind of forms of female discrimination including gender-based violence are terminated (Eurostat, 2024). 

Violence against women is one of the most widespread manifestations of gender inequality and a major obstacle to sustainable social development, especially in rural contexts. For example, approximately 27.3% of women living in rural areas have reported that they underwent physical or sexual violence, including threats (Eurostat, 2024). Although violence against women is widely recognized as a systemic human rights and public health problem, its public coverage often fails to adequately take into account contextual risk. The contemporary media landscape often reproduces the so-called ‘distorted narrative’, in which the experience of the victim is trivialized, while the actions of the perpetrator are justified or even romanticized, using labels such as ‘crimes of passion’ (Carll, 2003; Sutherland et al., 2015). These trends are particularly pronounced in rural areas, where small communities, limited anonymity, economic dependence and the presence of digital surveillance significantly amplify the potential negative consequences of public communication. The negative consequences include gender-based violence participants’ engagement in the labour market and society (Ahrens et al., 2025), and, consequently, sustainability of social development. It should be noted that by participants, both victims/survivors and perpetrators are meant. Negative impacts of gender-based violence relate to (European Commission Regional and Urban Policy, 2026)

• Strain on local services:
  • Increased pressure from displaced persons;
  • Limited financial capacity of municipalities, and
  • Underfunded services;
• Economic disruption: 
  • Trade problems,
  • Lack of investment, 
  • Non-development of housing markets, 
  • Strain in SMEs and supply chains
• Demographic decline:
  • Population emigration, 
  • Ageing populations, and 
  • Shortage of qualified staff in key sectors such as healthcare and education.

 

References

EUR-Lex. (2021). Sustainable development goals. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/sustainable-development-goals.html 

European Union. (2021). Rural Vision. https://rural-vision.europa.eu/index_en 

Eurostat. (2024). SDG 5 - Gender equality. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/SEPDF/cache/63333.pdf

Carll, E. K. (2003). News Portrayal of Violence and Women: Implications for Public Policy: Implications for Public Policy. American Behavioral Scientist, 46(12), 1601-1610. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764203254616  

Sutherland, G., McCormack, A., Pirkis, J., Easteal, P., Holland, K., & Vaughan, C. (2015). Media representations of violence against women and their children: State of knowledge paper. Landscape Issue 15/2015. ANROWS.

Ahrens, A., Zascerinska, J., Huliaieva, L., Oliinyk, A., Yilmaz, A., Avanoglu, S., Slawek, M., Szostkiewicz, M., Cavagnetto, S., Rivera, L., Gladysh, M., Isayeva, N. (2025). Labour Market in Host Countries for Employment of Migrant Women from Ukraine. 13th Annual International Conference "Science and Education in Globalization" (SCEDU’2025). Panevėžio kolegija / State Higher Education Institution, Lithuania. 23-24 October 2025 (submitted for publication).

Ahrens, A., Zascerinska, J., & Macovei, I. (2022). EU Youth Beliefs in Gender Based Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault. Education. Innovation. Diversity, 2(5),47-57. DOI:https://doi.org/10.17770/eid2022.2.6963

European Commission Regional and Urban Policy (18 February 2026). Communication on EU's Eastern Regions Bordering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Strong regions for a safe Europe. February 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/attachment/882287/Factsheet_EBR.pdf