Director of Public Health Annual Report 2021: Domestic violence and abuse

Data on domestic abuse comes from several sources. The Crime Survey for England and Wales and national police data on recorded crime are published by the Office for National Statistics. Local data from Thames Valley Police is available to show what is happening in Buckinghamshire.

We can also use national and local data on use of domestic abuse services to determine who is using services.

The current data have limitations. Domestic abuse often goes unreported. When it is reported, there can be a lack of detail about the type of abuse and the characteristics of people involved. Fewer than 1 in 5 women (17%) who had experienced partner abuse in the year to March 2018 in England and Wales reported the abuse to the police.

For the year to March 2020 in England and Wales we know that:

• 1 in 20 adults (aged 16 to 74 years) reported experiencing domestic abuse. This is 2.3 million adults
• there were about 1.28 million recorded domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes
• twice as many women as men went through some form of domestic abuse
• women aged 16 to 19 years were more likely to report being a victim of domestic abuse than all other ages. 14% of women in this age group said that they had experienced any domestic abuse
• for male victims, the age group most commonly reporting abuse was also 16 to 19 years old. 5% of men of this age said that they had experienced any domestic abuse
• people with a disability were more likely to experience domestic abuse than people without a disability
• unemployed people were more likely to have experienced domestic abuse than those who were employed or economically inactive
• people living in a single-parent household were more likely to experience domestic abuse
• people in the Mixed ethnic group were more likely to experience domestic abuse compared to other ethnicity categories
• women in the lowest household income bracket are 4 times more likely to report being victims of domestic abuse (as reported for the year to March 2017)
• there were 357 domestic homicides between 2017 and 2019
• men committed 86% of all domestic homicides. The victim was female in 77% of domestic homicides cases. The suspect was male in 96% of female homicides and 53% of male homicides

We also know from research in England and Wales that:

• women experience more of certain types of abuse (more repeated physical violence, more severe violence, more sexual violence, more coercive control, more injuries and more fear of their partner compared to men)
• 91% of domestic violent crimes causing injuries are against women
• 83% of victims experiencing more than 10 violent crimes are women

Domestic abuse data for Buckinghamshire tell us the following:

• domestic abuse affects an estimated 21,000 adults in Buckinghamshire each year, or 57 people every day
• between 2011 and 2020 there were 15 domestic homicides in Buckinghamshire and 39 across the Thames Valley area
• police data for Buckinghamshire from 2020 to 2021 showed that:
  • only around 4,000 victims of abuse were recorded. This reflects a known pattern of under-reporting of domestic abuse for all victims
  • more victims are female (71%) than male
  • over half of victims (56%) are aged between 18 and 40 years of age

The following chart shows the age of victims at the time of abuse, according to Thames Valley Police data between April 2020 and January 2021.

The largest group is victims aged between 18 and 30 years (29%). The next largest group is victims aged between 31 and 40 years (27%). The smallest group is victims aged 17 and under (4%).

A local needs assessment (2019) found that domestic abuse services in Buckinghamshire compare well to gold standard guidance from the National Institute for Health and Social Care Excellence (NICE).

For example, the county has the recommended number of independent domestic violence advisers (IDVAs) for its population size. Local domestic abuse service data add to our knowledge of domestic abuse. Understanding who is (and who isn’t) using services can inform service planning, commissioning and delivery.

Data collection in these services can be challenging and sensitive and therefore service data are often incomplete. However, comparing the data we have with national estimates suggests that some groups may be under-represented in service users.

These groups include but may not be limited to:

• men
• older people
• ethnic minorities
• disabled people
• people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or have another definition of their gender and sexuality (LGBT+)

This under-representation may reflect the fact that not all victims want to seek help, or that services are not meeting the needs of these groups.

Less is known about the people who carry out domestic abuse. It is vital that we understand more about perpetrators if we are to understand how to prevent abuse and change their behaviour.

Whilst data on perpetrators and convictions are limited, one report suggested that there are around 400,000 perpetrators in England and Wales causing high and medium levels of harm.

Perpetrators are more often a partner or ex-partner rather than a family member. They are more likely to be male. Male perpetrators are more likely to seriously injure or kill their victim; of the 357 domestic homicides committed in England and Wales between 2017 and 2019, 86% were committed by men.

From Thames Valley Police data for Buckinghamshire (10 months to January 2021), we know that:

• there were 3,212 domestic abuse perpetrators who committed 4,431 domestic abuse crimes
• 72% of perpetrators of known gender were male
• 64% of perpetrators of known age were 40 years old or under

Perpetrators can be children as well as adults. Research and local professionals tell us that teen-to-parent and teen-to-teen domestic abuse occurs locally.

Crime Survey for England and Wales data show fewer people experiencing domestic abuse over time, from 2005 to 2020.

Despite the gradually decreasing rates of domestic abuse reported in surveys, there was a 9% increase in domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes reported to police from 2019 to 2020 in England and Wales.

This may relate to changes in police recording or may reflect a true increase in reporting to the police. In Buckinghamshire, these crimes accounted for 15% of all recorded crime between 2019 and 2020, 14% of all crime between 2018 and 2019, and 11% of all crime between 2017 and 2018.

The Covid-19 pandemic saw a significant increase in reported domestic abuse.

During the first lockdown (March to June 2020) police data showed a 7% increase in domestic abuse related offences.

In the 10 months from April 2020, contacts to the National Domestic Abuse charity Refuge rose by 61% and contacts to the charity Respect which supports male victims of domestic abuse rose by 70%.

Calls to the National Stalking Helpline in the year from March 2020 increased by almost 10%.

The lockdown resulted in victims being confined at home with perpetrators. School closures may have increased exposure of children to household violence.

In-person contact with health and social services reduced. And home visits which may have identified and intervened in risky situations were reduced.

Victims reported that the abuse worsened during the pandemic, especially if they lived with their abuser.

In Buckinghamshire, reports of domestic abuse have increased since the start of the pandemic.

The table below shows police data before and after Covid-19.

The data shows that reported domestic abuse crimes, numbers of victims, numbers of perpetrators and domestic-related stalking crimes have all increased. The latter increase may be due to changes in recording practices by the Home Office in April 2020.

Use of domestic abuse services has also increased. The table below shows service use data before and after Covid-19.

The data shows that the number of victims supported by IDVAs has increased.