Trapped in a cycle of domestic violence

Between April 2018 and March 2019 there were 129,647 victims of domestic violence. Of these 76,109 were victims in a single incident

MORE than four in 10 victims of domestic violence say they have experienced the crime more than once within a year. Those are the latest findings of the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

The figures reveal there were 129,647 victims of domestic violence in 2018/19.

Of these, 53,538 people had experienced the crime more than once that year - or 41.3% of victims.

The figures show that 15,441 of these victims had experienced domestic violence at least five times over the course of the year.

Because the Crime Survey for England and Wales is a household survey, it picks up more crime than the official police figures.

This is because not all crimes will be reported to the police.

It could still be an underestimate, however, as the figures only include those who said during face-to-face interviews that they had experienced domestic violence.

A methodology statement issued alongside the figures said respondents may be more willing to report such sensitive issues in self-completion forms, rather than interviews.

Although there is no statutory definition of domestic violence, a government briefing paper on the subject issued last year says it includes psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional abuse.

The data does not provide an age or gender breakdown of victims, nor does it provide information on the victim’s relationship with the offender.

However, it is known from previous data that a large majority of victims of domestic violence are women.

A spokesperson from Women’s Aid said: “Domestic abuse is often a pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence so women may experience or report multiple incidents to police over time.

“We know from our work with survivors that many women are too frightened to report the abuse to the police: less than half of women in refuges and only a quarter of women accessing community-based support services had reported the abuse to the police.

“Power, control and assumed superiority is at the heart of all violence against women and girls – whether it is everyday sexism or domestic abuse.

“What can be all too easily passed off as ‘banter’ or ‘laddish behaviour’ actually has a much darker impact. It reinforces the inequality women and girls face in all aspects of their daily lives and normalises the attitudes at the heart of abuse.

“Everyday sexism creates a culture where it is ok for men to demean, objectify, intimidate, threaten and control women.”