Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2024

This bulletin brings together data on domestic abuse from a range of different organisations. We have split our commentary into several separate publications:

• Domestic abuse prevalence and trends, England and Wales: year ending March 2024
• Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales: year ending March 2024
• Domestic abuse and the criminal justice system, England and Wales: November 2024
• How domestic abuse data are captured through the criminal justice system: November 2024

This release supports the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign. The statistics are used to monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 2.3 million people aged 16 years and over (1.6 million women and 712,000 men) experienced domestic abuse in year ending (YE) March 2024.
• There was no statistically significant change in the prevalence of domestic abuse experienced in the last year, compared with the previous year.
• The police recorded 851,062 domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales in YE March 2024; a decrease compared with the previous year (911,248), which, in part, reflects recent changes in police recording practices.
• There were 51,183 domestic abuse-related prosecutions in England and Wales in YE March 2024, compared with 51,288 in YE March 2023.

Specific cases cannot be followed through the criminal justice system, so we cannot make direct comparisons between data from different stages. However, we can build up a picture of what has happened at each stage of the criminal justice system, from incident to conviction, by looking at all data available.

Data in this bulletin refer to victims, offences, suspects, and offenders, depending on the data source. One person may be a victim of multiple offences.

Figure 1: Domestic abuse data from incident to conviction, England and Wales, year ending March 2024

Notes:

1. For more information about the data included in this chart, see Section 10: Data sources and quality.

Figure 2: Approximately 2.3 million people aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse in the last year

Prevalence of domestic abuse in the last year, for people aged 16 years and over, England and Wales, year ending (YE) March 2024

Notes:

1. For more information about the data included in this chart, see Section 10: Data sources and quality.

Approximately one in five (20.5%) people aged 16 years and over (9.9 million) had experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16 years.

An estimated 4.8% of people aged 16 years and over (6.6% of women and 3.0% of men) experienced domestic abuse in the last year. This equates to an estimated 2.3 million adults (1.6 million women and 712,000 men).

A higher percentage of people aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse by a partner or ex-partner (3.2%) than by a family member (1.9%) in the last year.

Following the removal of the upper age limit for survey respondents in October 2021, when analysing data over a longer time period, we use the 16 to 59 years age range to give a comparable time series.

There was no statistically significant change in the prevalence of domestic abuse experienced by adults aged 16 to 59 years in the last year (5.4%), compared with year ending (YE) March 2023. However, there has been a gradual decrease in domestic abuse over the last 10 years, from 6.5% in YE March 2014.

More information can be found in our Domestic abuse prevalence and trends, England and Wales article and our Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales article.

Figure 3: The police recorded approximately 1.4 million domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes in the year ending March 2024

Number of domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes recorded by the police, England and Wales, year ending (YE) March 2024

Notes:

1. For more information about the data included in this chart, see Section 10: Data sources and quality.

Domestic abuse-related incidents include reports where, after initial investigation, the police have concluded that no notifiable crime was committed. Incidents of domestic abuse that result in a crime being recorded by the police are included in the data on domestic abuse-related crimes.

The police recorded 851,062 domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales in year ending (YE) March 2024. This was a decrease, compared with the previous year (911,248). This is likely, in part, to reflect recent changes in police recording practices. More information on the changes can be found in our Domestic abuse prevalence and trends, England and Wales: year ending March 2024 article.

Domestic abuse-related crimes represented 15.8% of all offences recorded by the police in the last year.

Women were disproportionately represented among victims of domestic abuse-related crimes, as in previous years, with 72.5% of all victims being female in the last year.

Figure 4: Domestic abuse crime suspects referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, England and Wales, year ending March 2024

Notes:

1. For more information about the data included in this chart, see Section 10: Data sources and quality.

The number of referrals of suspects of domestic abuse-related cases from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision increased from 69,314 in year ending (YE) March 2023 to 72,641 in YE March 2024. This follows a decreasing trend. Direct comparisons between police recorded crime data and CPS data cannot be made.

Other possible outcomes following police investigation are that:

• no further action is taken, for example, there is not enough evidence or the offender has died
• the case is transferred to another police force area
• the suspect receives out of court disposal, such as a caution
• the crime report is cancelled
• no suspect is identified

Figure 5: The Crown Prosecution Service charged nearly 50,000 suspects in domestic abuse-related cases in year ending March 2024

Number of suspects of domestic abuse-related crimes charged, England and Wales, year ending (YE) March 2024

Notes:

1. For more information about the data included in this chart, see Section 10: Data sources and quality.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charged 49,046 suspects in domestic abuse-related cases in year ending (YE) March 2024.

The CPS domestic abuse-related charging rate increased to 79.0%, compared with 76.5% in YE March 2023. This is the highest charging rate since our records began in YE March 2015.

Cases where the decision was not to charge might be because:

• there is not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction
• it is not in the public interest
• the victim is not willing, or may feel unable to support a prosecution

Figure 6: The Crown Prosecution Service recorded 51,183 domestic abuse-related prosecutions in the last year

Completed outcomes of domestic abuse-related crimes, England and Wales, year ending (YE) March 2024

Notes:

1. For more information about the data included in this chart, see Section 10: Data sources and quality.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) recorded 51,183 domestic abuse-related prosecutions in the last year. Of these, 38,776 resulted in convictions and 12,407 resulted in non-convictions.

The percentage of prosecutions leading to a conviction decreased from 76.4% in year ending (YE) March 2023 to 75.8% in YE March 2024.

Of the cases that did not result in a conviction:

• 6,005 were a result of complainant-related issues (including victim retractions, victim non-attendance at trial or where the evidence of the complainant does not support the case)
• 1,949 were because of acquittals

Charging rate

The charging rate is the number of suspects of Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) domestic abuse-flagged cases that were charged, as a proportion of all those that resulted in a legal decision to charge, take no further action, or recommend an out-of-court disposal.

Convictions

Cases where the defendant was convicted following a prosecution, comprising of either:

• a conviction after trial: cases in which the defendant pleaded not guilty, but was convicted after the evidence was heard
• a guilty plea: where the defendant pleaded guilty
• a proof in absence: cases comprising of lesser offences which were heard by the court in the absence of the defendant

Domestic abuse

Domestic abuse is not limited to physical violence and can include a range of abusive behaviours. It can also be experienced as repeated patterns of abusive behaviour to maintain power and control in a relationship.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 defines domestic abuse as any incident or pattern of incidents between those aged 16 years and over who:

• are a partner
• are an ex-partner
• are a relative
• have, or there has been a time when they each have had, a parental relationship in relation to the same child

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 outlines the following behaviours as abuse:

• physical or sexual abuse
• violent or threatening behaviour
• controlling or coercive behaviour
• economic abuse
• psychological, emotional, or other abuse

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 recognises children under the age of 18 years who see, or hear, or experience the effects of the abuse, as a victim of domestic abuse if they are related or have a parental relationship to the adult victim or perpetrator of the abuse.

Domestic abuse-related crimes

Incidents of domestic abuse that resulted in a crime being recorded by the police and are included in police recorded crime.

Domestic abuse-related incidents

Incidents of domestic abuse that were reported to the police, but following investigation, do not amount to a crime or offence according to the National Crime Recording Standards. These can be added to domestic abuse-related crimes to create a total picture of the demand that domestic abuse puts on the police.

Police recorded crime

Police recorded crime data are supplied by the Home Office, who are responsible for the collation of recorded crime data supplied by the 43 territorial police forces of England and Wales, plus the British Transport Police. The data are an important indicator of police workload but, unlike the CSEW, do not include crimes that have not been reported to the police or incidents that the police decide not to record as crimes.

Pre-charge decisions

Of all the suspects referred by the police, pre-charge decisions are those where the CPS has completed making a decision on whether to charge, take no further action, recommend an out of court decision, record an outcome of pending response – further investigation or “other”.

Prosecutions

All cases where the defendant (or defendants) were charged, summonsed in court, or charged by way of a postal requisition during the period. This includes those proceeding to a trial or guilty plea, those discontinued and those which could not proceed.

Our User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales provides detailed information about the data published in this release.

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in:

• our Domestic abuse Quality and Methodology Information (QMI)
• our Crime in England and Wales QMI
• our How domestic abuse data are captured through the criminal justice system: November 2024 article

Data sources

How data on domestic abuse are collected differs between sources. Data are not directly comparable. This is because they are collected on different bases (for example, victims, crimes, suspects, or defendants). They also may not cover the same cohort because of variation in the time taken for cases to progress through the criminal justice system. It is necessary to look at the data presented in its entirety, as each individual stage of the system is, in part, influenced by activity at a prior stage.

Accredited official statistics

The accredited official statistics status of CSEW estimates was temporarily suspended between July 2022 and September 2024 because of the potential impact of lower response rates on data quality after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Following the results of our CSEW data quality review in June 2024, the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) independently reviewed our request for reaccreditation and CSEW estimates regained accredited official statistics status in October 2024. Crime survey estimates for YE March 2022 are based on six months of interviews and are not accredited official statistics.

Crime Survey for England and Wales

Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) data for year ending (YE) March 2024 are based on a split sample. Caution should be taken because of the impact of the reduced sample size on the quality of the data. For more information, see our Domestic abuse QMI.

Official statistics

Police recorded crime and outcomes data from the Home Office are classified as official statistics. All other data included in this release are sourced from administrative datasets and do not fall within the scope of official statistics.

Police recorded crime

Police recorded crime data, in isolation, do not provide a measure of prevalence to understand the true extent of domestic abuse. Caution should be taken when comparing domestic abuse-related police recorded crime data with previous years because of changes in police recording practices. More information can be found in our Domestic abuse prevalence and trends, England and Wales: year ending March 2024 article.

Crown Prosecution Service data

In Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) data, a suspect or defendant represents one person (or on occasion “one company”) in a single set of proceedings, which may involve one or more charges.

A set of proceedings usually relates to an incident or series of related incidents that are the subject of a police file. If a set of proceedings relates to more than one person, then each is counted as a defendant. Sometimes one person is involved in several sets of proceedings during the same year. If so, he or she is counted as a suspect or defendant on each occasion.

CPS data on the number of domestic abuse-related crimes referred by the police to the CPS rely on the police identifying and flagging the cases, by suspect, before being referred to the CPS. It also relies on the CPS administrators identifying and flagging those cases on the CPS case management system when they are first registered.

Total pre-charge decisions data are based on the date the charging advice was completed and provided to the police. Data on pre-charge decisions are also not directly comparable with data on the number of prosecutions. CPS data on prosecutions cover domestic abuse-related cases, by suspect or defendant, finalised during that year. They are not directly comparable to data on pre-charge decisions.

Strengths and limitations

Domestic abuse statistics are produced separately by several different organisations in England and Wales. When taken in isolation, these statistics may not provide the context required to understand the national and local picture of domestic abuse.

Data on victim services provision in England and Wales has not been updated for YE March 2024, while we focus on redeveloping the domestic abuse questions on the CSEW. Further information can be found in our Redevelopment of domestic abuse statistics: research update December 2024 article.