More adults likely to experience domestic abuse than previously thought
The estimates have been produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and are the first to use an improved method for measuring the prevalence of domestic abuse among the population.
A new set of questions has been added to the ONS's long-running Crime Survey for England and Wales in order to better capture a wider range of abuse types and behaviours.
They include questions about health abuse and forced marriage – areas not previously covered by the survey – as well as reflecting recent changes in the law regarding coercive and controlling behaviour.
More detail on economic abuse, which can take the form of someone deliberately getting a person into debt or preventing them from getting a job, has also been included.
The ONS now estimates that in the year to March 2024, 26.1% of adults – around one in four – had experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16, the equivalent of 12.6 million people.
Under the old method, which is not directly comparable with the new survey, the ONS estimated that one in five (20.5%) questioned in the 12 months to March 2024 had experienced abuse since 16.
The new estimates suggest 30.3% of women and 21.7% of men surveyed in this period had experienced domestic abuse at some point since the age of 16, equivalent to 7.4 million and 5.1 million people respectively.
Meghan Elkin, ONS head of crime statistics, said: 'The way domestic abuse manifests is constantly changing and is difficult to measure.
'In developing these questions, we have listened to victims and survivors of domestic abuse alongside a range of users from charities to academics and other government departments.
'These new questions are a positive step in better understanding domestic abuse and providing vital information to all those working to improve outcomes and support for victims.
'The new approach has resulted in a higher prevalence rate as we have introduced questions to ask about types of abuse not previously covered by the crime survey, such as health abuse and forced marriage.'
Health abuse includes anything from depriving a person of daily essentials, such as food and sleep, to forcing someone to terminate pregnancy or denying someone medical assistance.
Marital status-related abuse includes forced marriage and the prevention of marrying someone of your choice.
The new figures also suggest that an estimated 8.0% of people aged 16 and over (3.9 million people) surveyed in the year to March 2024 were likely to have experienced some kind of domestic abuse in the previous 12 months, with a higher figure for women (9.5% or 2.3 million) than men (6.5% or 1.5 million).
Responding to the findings, Dame Nicole Jacobs, domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, said: 'Domestic abuse has a devastating impact on the millions of lives it touches but for too long the scale of the problem – and its pervasiveness – has remained hidden.
'Developing new ways to further our understanding of this terrible crime so we can put in place measures to tackle it and ensure survivors receive the support they need is absolutely vital.
'I welcome the ongoing focus on domestic abuse by the ONS, as only through knowing the full picture will we be able to rid society of it for good.'
Sarika Seshadri, head of research and evaluation at Women's Aid, said: 'The new questions will provide insight into victim-survivors' experiences of domestic abuse since the age of 16, including detailed profiles of which victim-survivors are experiencing the highest impact and highest harm forms of abuse
'By understanding not only prevalence but impact, and how this is affecting different groups of the population, we will be able to identify to what extent policies and practice are either reducing or exacerbating experiences of domestic abuse, and in particular for whom, so that we can develop targeted and meaningful interventions.'
In developing the new questions, the ONS worked with a consortium led by the Centre for Gender and Violence Research at the University of Bristol, that also involved the College of Policing, the Women's Aid Federation of England, Men's Advice Line, Imkaan and Welsh Women's Aid.
While the updated questions are better aligned with the offence of coercive and controlling behaviour, it is not possible to separate out an estimate for victims of this offence, the ONS said.
More detailed findings from the new survey will be published later in the year.
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