Family Law

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has analysed three years of data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales to help develop insight into which women are most at risk of experiencing abuse by a partner or former partner.

The ONS analysis shows that:

• Young women (age 16-24) were more likely to have experienced partner abuse recently than older women. (age 45-59).
• Women with a long-term illness or disability were more than twice as likely to have experienced some form of partner abuse (12.4%) than women who did not (5.1%).
• Bisexual women were nearly twice as likely to have experienced partner abuse than heterosexual women (10.9% compared with 6.0%).
• Women who identified with mixed/multiple ethnicities were more likely to have experienced partner abuse (10.1%) than any other ethnic group.

Looking at the types of households in which women were more likely to experience abuse, the ONS found that:

• Women living in households with an income of less than £10,000 were more than four times as likely (14.3%) to have experienced partner abuse than women living in households with an income of £50,000 or more (3.3%).
• Women living in social housing (11.1%) were nearly three times as likely to have experienced partner abuse than women who were owner occupiers (4.1%).

The ONS article also considers what the UK government is currently doing to tackle domestic abuse and how partner abuse data in the UK compares with other countries in the EU.

Commenting on the findings, Glenn Everett from the ONS, said:

‘Today’s analysis gives insight into the characteristics of women who are more vulnerable to partner abuse. It also tells us about the types of households they live in. This can help to inform policies and services aimed at ending violence against women and girls – one of the key targets in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.’

Read the analysis in full here.

Earlier ONS analysis, containing information on partner abuse experienced by males, and on other types of domestic abuse experienced by both males and females, can be found here.