Domestic abuse by women trebles in decade

The crime can no longer be seen as ‘male-only’ after female perpetrators carry out nearly a third of attacks

ATTACKS by women on family members have risen twice as fast as those by men, new data shows, leading campaigners to call for an overhaul of approaches to domestic violence.

Female perpetrators now account for 28 per cent of cases – compared with 19 per cent a decade ago. Male perpetrators were still identified in the majority of domestic violence incidents.

The number of attacks committed by females has tripled, growing from 27,762 in 2009 to 92,409 in 2018, according to the data obtained by The Sunday Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act. More than 10,000 incidents were identified by police in West Yorkshire alone.

It is thought that the vast majority of domestic violence incidents still go unreported. Experts last night called for an overhaul of approaches to abuse, arguing domestic violence can no longer be thought of as a male-only crime.

Mark Brooks, the chairman of the Mankind Initiative, which supports male victims of domestic abuse, said: “These figures are a wake-up call on why, when we think of domestic abuse, although the gender and age of victims is important it should be no more significant than them as an individual.”

Mr Brooks added that current approaches to domestic abuse were defined by the belief that it “is a gendered crime”, resulting in a “female victims first” approach that often leaves those suffering abuse at the hands of women behind.

He said the increase in female perpetrators was because the “stigma of being victim of a female” had decreased, but the sector needed to “modernise” too by becoming more inclusive of male and LGBTQ+ victims.

“We’ve progressed to the 21st century in many areas, but in terms of approaches to domestic abuse, we still struggle to see women as violent.”

Earlier this month, Hull Crown

Court heard how one woman stabbed her husband of 40 years with a potato peeler after an argument over a set of blinds. Carol Robinson, 57, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm after puncturing her husband’s lung.

In December 2019, Joanne Reddy was jailed for four years after stabbing her ex-husband, shouting “die you b------”.

Paul Chivers, 50, was admitted to hospital by his ex wife after she hit him repeatedly with a hairdryer.

She was convicted of committing grievous bodily harm in 2015 and handed a 16-month prison sentence but, according to Mr Chivers, a “number of people” found it difficult to view his wife as a violent offender.

“Anybody can be a victim, and anybody can be a perpetrator,” he said. “It’s not a gendered thing anymore, which is the thing that people have an issue with.

“I used to go to a church in my town, but the majority of the people in that church took the side of my ex-wife. They just didn’t understand. They couldn’t see how that sort of thing could happen.”