New figures have revealed around one in 10 people aged 16 and over in England and Wales were victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking in the year to March.
The data, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday, is the first time an estimate has been made of the combined prevalence of domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking.
It found that some 10.6 per cent of all people aged 16 and over are likely to have experienced one or more of these crime types in the year to March 2025.
The figure is closer to one in eight for women, while for men it is slightly lower at about one in 12.
The estimates mean 5.1 million people aged 16 and over in England and Wales have experienced one of the three crime types, of which 3.2 million were women and nearly 2 million were men, the ONS said.
In the year before, there was a slightly higher estimate of 5.4 million people or 11.3 per cent who had been victims of such crime types.
The survey measures experiences of crime, with domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking referred to as “crime types” because in some cases a criminal offence may not have occurred. The ONS said that the data was collected as part of the Crime Survey for England and Wales, but the estimates are still in development and are subject to change.
The combined measure has been produced to help the government monitor its ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade.
The Home Office will provide more detail on the use of the new estimate, together with other ways to measure progress against the target, in a new cross-government VAWG strategy to be published later this year.
A key pledge by Labour when the party came into government last summer was to halve VAWG in the next decade.
A long-awaited strategy to address the issue using a “cross-government approach with prevention at its heart” is expected this autumn.
However, many MPs and campaign groups have expressed concern that not enough progress is being made to tackle the issue.
Campaign groups and charities such Refuge have warned that underfunding is threatening the pledge is threatening the pledge, which they say has been “neglected” in budget announcements.
Earlier this month Gemma Sherrington, CEO of Refuge, said: “Refuge welcomed the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG within a decade, but without effective, strategic and transparent investment, this pledge amounts to little more than lip service to women’s safety.
“Time and again, VAWG has been neglected in budget announcements – with dire consequences for the vital frontline services that support survivors. Without meaningful investment in both prevention and survivor support, the Government’s ambition to halve VAWG within 10 years is simply unachievable.”
