GREVIO flags structural flaws in Andorra’s domestic‑violence response despite reforms

The Council of Europe’s GREVIO (Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence) thematic review of Andorra welcomes recent legal and institutional advances but identifies major structural and operational gaps that hinder the country’s response to gender‑based and domestic violence.

At the center of the report is a persistent statistical and information deficit: Andorra lacks a complete, homogeneous and interoperable data system on gender‑based and domestic violence. Police records do not systematically capture essential variables such as victims’ ages, the relationship between victim and alleged perpetrator, or the precise typology of violence. There are no unified registers or continuous collection protocols for protection orders, court judgments and case closures, which prevents reliable measurement of how many orders are enforced or breached, their real duration, how many cases are closed without resolution, and the impact of judicial decisions on victims’ safety.

GREVIO says this information gap limits the country’s ability to understand the true scope of violence, to follow the trajectory of individual cases and to assess the effectiveness of institutional responses. Without standardized data, policy design, monitoring and allocation of resources are compromised.

The evaluation also flags weaknesses in offender management and victim protection services. It highlights an approximately 70% dropout rate from the programme for men referred to non‑violent relationship interventions and judges this abandonment rate “excessively high,” undermining the programme’s preventive potential. The review notes that Andorra does not yet have a dedicated treatment programme for sexual offenders, a measure foreseen by the Istanbul Convention.

On child custody and contact arrangements, GREVIO urges that prior incidents of violence be treated as a primary consideration. The report warns that references to concepts without scientific basis, such as parental alienation, have appeared in some proceedings and risk obscuring abuse and compromising both victim protection and children’s safety.

At the same time, GREVIO recognises significant recent reforms. The 2022 reform of the Penal Code enshrined consent as the central element in sexual offences, allowing prosecution of sexual assault without needing to prove physical violence or intimidation. The body also welcomes the adoption of the Equality Law, the creation and structuring of specialised victim services, permanent assistance points at Nostra Senyora de Meritxell hospital and at police facilities, increased budgetary support for victim assistance, and intensified training and awareness campaigns for health, education, judicial and security personnel.

The Government welcomed the GREVIO evaluation as reinforcing progress to date. Government spokesperson Guillem Casal said the executive “celebrates” the report and is preparing a concrete action plan to address the committee’s recommendations, to be presented in the first half of 2026. Casal said the plan will seek to introduce clearer goals and deadlines, improve data collection and interoperability, strengthen follow‑up on protection measures and court outcomes, reduce programme abandonment and better align national policies with European standards.

Casal also stressed the limits of the executive’s remit in judicial matters, noting that final decisions in custody cases rest with judges and that the separation of powers constrains what the Government can directly change. He said the Government will nonetheless analyse GREVIO’s recommendations and bolster institutional tools and training for relevant professionals.

GREVIO judged the current national strategy, Present i futur, insufficient because it lacks measurable objectives, timelines and review mechanisms. The committee’s combination of praise for legislative and service advances and a catalogue of shortcomings provides a clear roadmap for reform; the effectiveness of forthcoming measures will depend on the Government’s ability to implement the promised action plan and on coordinated judicial and administrative follow‑through.