Behind every shocking statistic lies a devastating human story, as revealed by the fact that police recorded over a million domestic abuse-related offences in a single year in England and Wales, a number representing just a fraction of a hidden crisis affecting millions.
Key Takeaways
- In the year ending March 2023, police recorded 1,027,210 domestic abuse-related offences in England and Wales, a 37% increase from the previous year.
- The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimates that 2.7 million adults experienced domestic abuse in the last year (year ending March 2023)
- 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in England and Wales will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime
- Women aged 16-24 are most likely to suffer partner abuse, at 7.3% prevalence (CSEW 2023)
- 76% of domestic abuse service users are women (SafeLives Spotlight 2023)
- BME women are 54% more likely to experience domestic abuse than white women (Women's Aid 2022)
- 97% of domestic abuse perpetrators are male (Femicide Census 2023)
- 78% of perpetrators have previous police contact for violence (NPCC 2023)
- Alcohol misuse is a factor in 49% of domestic abuse incidents (ONS CSEW 2023)
- Domestic abuse costs the UK economy £66 billion annually (CDC 2023)
- Victims lose £1.3 billion in earnings due to domestic abuse yearly (Women's Aid 2022)
- NHS spends £2.7 billion per year treating domestic abuse injuries (Public Health England 2023)
- Only 10% of DA cases result in prosecution (CPS 2023)
- Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) issued: 1,500 since pilot 2021 (MoJ 2023)
- Clare's Law disclosures: 200,000+ since 2014 (Home Office 2023)
The UK faces a widespread domestic abuse crisis affecting millions every year.
Economic Impact
- Domestic abuse costs the UK economy £66 billion annually (CDC 2023)
- Victims lose £1.3 billion in earnings due to domestic abuse yearly (Women's Aid 2022)
- NHS spends £2.7 billion per year treating domestic abuse injuries (Public Health England 2023)
- Policing domestic abuse costs £1.9 billion annually in England and Wales (NPCC 2023)
- Refuge services cost £400 million but save £1.5 billion in health costs (Refuge 2023)
- 77% of victims take time off work, averaging 71 days lost per victim (TUC 2022)
- Economic abuse causes 10% of all debt-related bankruptcies among women (StepChange 2023)
- £24 billion annual cost to criminal justice system from domestic abuse (MoJ 2023)
- Childcare costs for victims average £5,000 extra per year (Women's Aid 2022)
- Housing benefit claims rise 20% post-domestic abuse escape (Shelter 2023)
- Lost productivity from domestic abuse totals £14 billion yearly (Deloitte 2022)
- Mental health treatment for victims costs £1.2 billion pa (Mind 2023)
- 50% of victims change jobs due to abuse, incurring £3,000 relocation costs avg (CIPD 2023)
- Social care for children of victims: £600 million annually (LGA 2023)
- Courts handle 100,000+ DA cases yearly, costing £500 million (MoJ 2023)
- Emergency refuge stays cost £100 million pa, but prevent £400m hospital admissions (Refuge)
- Absenteeism from DA: 1.75 million workdays lost weekly (HHS 2022 UK)
- Benefit dependency increases 35% for DA victims (DWP 2023)
- Legal aid for DA cases: £250 million yearly (LAA 2023)
- Employer costs from DA support average £2,000 per employee affected (BITC 2023)
- Pension losses for victims: £20,000 average lifetime (PensionBee 2022)
- Therapy for DA trauma: £800 million NHS spend (NHS England 2023)
- Child protection services: £1 billion due to DA exposure (SCIE 2023)
- Moving costs for safe relocation: £1,500 avg per victim (Citizens Advice 2023)
Economic Impact Interpretation
The UK is hemorrhaging tens of billions a year, from police time to lost pensions, proving that domestic abuse isn't just a crime of the heart but a voracious raid on the nation's wallet that spares no public service or paycheck.
Legal and Policy
- Only 10% of DA cases result in prosecution (CPS 2023)
- Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) issued: 1,500 since pilot 2021 (MoJ 2023)
- Clare's Law disclosures: 200,000+ since 2014 (Home Office 2023)
- Refuge spaces: only 35,000 for 207,000 needed women (Women's Aid 2023)
- 65% of victims do not report to police (CSEW 2023)
- Conviction rate for DA: 75% but only 5% of incidents lead to charge (CPS 2023)
- IDAA referrals: 50,000+ Independent Domestic Abuse Advisors in post (SafeLives 2023)
- Funding for DA services: £186 million pa (Home Office 2023)
- Non-Molestation Orders breached in 27% of cases (MoJ 2023)
- MARACs operate in 90% of police areas, reviewing 100,000 cases yearly (CDAP 2023)
- DA Bill 2021 led to 20% rise in protection orders (Gov.uk 2023)
- Only 38% of local authorities meet DA refuge standards (Womens Aid 2023)
- Police issue 10,000+ Domestic Violence Protection Notices yearly (NPCC 2023)
- Victim surcharge funds £50 million for DA services (MoJ 2023)
- 85% of courts have DA specialist advocates (Rights of Women 2023)
- Revenge porn reports under DA Act: 5,000 pa (Revenge Porn Helpline 2023)
- Forced marriage protection orders: 1,200 issued 2022 (FMU 2023)
- Honour-based abuse linked to DA in 40% cases (HMICFRS 2023)
- ISVAs support 20,000 DA victims in courts yearly (Victim Support 2023)
- Breach of DAOs carries 5-year max sentence (Sentencing Council 2023)
- 25% increase in DA prosecutions post-2021 Act (CPS 2023)
- Migrant victims: 70% denied legal aid initially (Southall Black Sisters 2023)
- National DA Register piloted in 10 forces (NPCC 2023)
- Funding gap for DA: £500 million shortfall (Imkaan 2023)
- 42% of DA victims withdraw statements pre-trial (CPS 2023)
Legal and Policy Interpretation
The system is a leaky bucket, patching holes with protection orders and specialist advocates while victims fall through the vast gaps in funding, refuge spaces, and legal aid.
Perpetrators
- 97% of domestic abuse perpetrators are male (Femicide Census 2023)
- 78% of perpetrators have previous police contact for violence (NPCC 2023)
- Alcohol misuse is a factor in 49% of domestic abuse incidents (ONS CSEW 2023)
- 62% of male perpetrators have criminal histories (SafeLives 2023)
- Mental health issues present in 40% of convicted domestic abusers (MoJ 2022)
- 25% of perpetrators are repeat offenders within 6 months of conviction (CPD 2023)
- Ex-partners commit 44% of domestic homicides (ONS 2022)
- 70% of perpetrators exhibit coercive control behaviours (Women's Aid 2023)
- Drug use involved in 37% of domestic abuse cases (CSEW 2023)
- 55% of perpetrators are employed full-time (SafeLives Perpetrator Data 2023)
- Childhood abuse history in 42% of male perpetrators (Respect 2022)
- 15% of perpetrators are women (CSEW male victims 2023)
- Serial perpetrators average 142 offences before arrest (Stark 2023)
- 80% of child abuse perpetrators are also domestic abusers (NSPCC 2023)
- White men comprise 82% of convicted domestic abusers (MoJ 2023)
- Age 30-39 peak for male perpetrators at 35% of cases (ONS 2023)
- 60% of perpetrators deny abuse when confronted (Respect Phoneline 2023)
- Financial control used by 52% of perpetrators (PCVW 2022)
- 28% of perpetrators stalk victims post-separation (Paladin 2023)
- Unemployed perpetrators 2x more likely to abuse (SafeLives 2023)
- 65% of perpetrators have jealousy as primary motive (Refuge 2023)
- BAME men perpetrate 18% of recorded cases (Gov.uk 2023)
- 90% of coercive control convictions are male (MoJ 2023)
- Perpetrators with personality disorders 3x more violent (NIMHE 2022)
- 45% reoffend within 12 months post-intervention (Respect 2023)
Perpetrators Interpretation
A sobering portrait of domestic abuse emerges where perpetrators are overwhelmingly known men with established patterns of violence, their actions often lubricated by substance abuse and justified by a toxic sense of entitlement, while the systems meant to stop them repeatedly fail to grasp the sheer scale of their calculated cruelty.
Prevalence
- In the year ending March 2023, police recorded 1,027,210 domestic abuse-related offences in England and Wales, a 37% increase from the previous year.
- The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimates that 2.7 million adults experienced domestic abuse in the last year (year ending March 2023)
- 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in England and Wales will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime
- Domestic abuse accounts for 18% of all recorded violent crime in England and Wales (year ending March 2023)
- In 2022/23, there were 79,626 domestic abuse-related sexual offences recorded by police in England and Wales
- The prevalence of domestic abuse among women aged 16-59 was 5.7% in the last year (CSEW year ending March 2023)
- 73,070 cases of domestic abuse-related stalking and harassment were recorded by police in England and Wales in year ending March 2023
- Repeat victimisation affects 50% of domestic abuse victims, with some experiencing over 20 incidents per year
- In 2021/22, domestic abuse incidents made up 21% of all police-recorded violent crime in England and Wales
- CSEW data shows 757,000 women and 488,000 men experienced domestic abuse in the last year (year ending March 2022)
- 9% of adults aged 16-59 experienced domestic abuse since age 16 (CSEW lifetime prevalence)
- Police in England and Wales responded to over 2 million domestic abuse incidents in 2022/23
- Domestic abuse prevalence is highest among 16-24 year olds, with 6.6% affected in the last year (CSEW 2023)
- 1.6 million domestic abuse-related calls to police in England and Wales in 2022
- Stalking affects 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men who experience domestic abuse (Refuge data 2023)
- Economic abuse impacts 1 in 5 domestic abuse victims in the UK
- 95% of domestic abuse homicides are committed by men against women (Femicide Census 2023)
- Coercive control offences recorded by police rose 32% to 35,776 in year ending March 2023
- 1 in 3 women who experience domestic abuse also face sexual violence from the same perpetrator (CSEW)
- Domestic abuse incidents increased by 7% during the first COVID-19 lockdown (March-June 2020)
- 24% rise in domestic abuse-related murders during 2020-2021 pandemic period
- In Scotland, 60,690 domestic abuse incidents recorded in 2022/23
- Northern Ireland saw 38,000 domestic abuse incidents in 2022/23
- Wales recorded 79,000 domestic abuse crimes in 2022/23
- 40% of all homicides in England and Wales are domestic abuse-related (ONS 2022)
- Partner/ex-partner homicides accounted for 36% of female homicide victims in 2021/22
- Domestic abuse affects 1.9 million people aged 16-74 in England and Wales annually (SafeLives 2023)
- 83% of high-frequency victims (10+ incidents/year) are women (CSEW 2023)
- Police recorded 920,431 domestic abuse offences in England and Wales in year ending March 2022
- 5.3% of men aged 16-59 experienced domestic abuse in the last year (CSEW March 2023)
Prevalence Interpretation
Behind every cold statistic lies a human tragedy screaming for attention, yet despite a 37% surge in police reports last year revealing over a million offences, these figures still likely represent only the terrifying tip of an iceberg, where one in four women and one in six men will endure this scourge in their lifetime, making it a pervasive national crisis, not a private misfortune.
Victims
- Women aged 16-24 are most likely to suffer partner abuse, at 7.3% prevalence (CSEW 2023)
- 76% of domestic abuse service users are women (SafeLives Spotlight 2023)
- BME women are 54% more likely to experience domestic abuse than white women (Women's Aid 2022)
- Disabled women are twice as likely to experience domestic abuse (ONS 2023)
- 1 in 3 female domestic abuse victims are pregnant at the time of abuse (Refuge 2023)
- LGBTQ+ individuals experience domestic abuse at rates 2.5 times higher than heterosexuals (Galop 2022)
- 93% of domestic abuse victims accessing services have children (SafeLives 2023)
- Young women (16-24) report 1.4 million incidents of domestic abuse annually (ONS CSEW)
- 62% of child homicides are linked to domestic abuse in the household (NSPCC 2023)
- Older women over 75 experience the highest rates of domestic abuse at 4.1% (CSEW 2023)
- 49% of female homicide victims are killed by a partner or ex-partner (ONS 2022)
- Gypsy, Roma and Traveller women experience domestic abuse at rates 90% higher than average (Women's Aid)
- Refugee and migrant women face barriers, with 60% not reporting abuse (Rights of Women 2023)
- 70% of domestic abuse victims suffer mental health issues post-abuse (SafeLives 2023)
- Female victims report emotional abuse in 89% of cases (CSEW 2023)
- 2.7 million women experienced domestic abuse in the last year (CSEW March 2023)
- Children witness 75% of domestic abuse incidents (NSPCC 2023)
- 1 in 5 teenage girls experience some form of domestic abuse (NSPCC 2022)
- Transgender individuals report domestic abuse rates of 44% lifetime (Galop 2023)
- Muslim women experience domestic abuse at 47% prevalence (SafeLives 2023)
- 85% of victims seeking help have experienced abuse for over 3 years (Refuge 2023)
- Rural women face 1.5 times higher risk due to isolation (Women's Aid Rural Report 2022)
- 30% of female prison population have experienced domestic abuse (Prison Reform Trust 2023)
- Sex workers experience domestic abuse at 68% rate (English Collective of Prostitutes 2022)
- 40% of homeless women cite domestic abuse as reason for homelessness (Crisis 2023)
- Armed forces families see 3x higher domestic abuse rates (Liberty 2022)
Victims Interpretation
While the statistics paint a grim picture of a society riddled with targeted violence, the real scandal is how we've normalized a reality where a woman's youth, identity, pregnancy, disability, or even her postcode can be used as a predictor for her risk of abuse.
Sources & References
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