Todays news update an epidemic-level of violence against women and girls in England and Wales – on a par with terrorism or organised crime which has so far gone largely unnoticed – is being predicted by police who have demanded it be prioritised.
Police say that as many one in every 12 women will become a victim of violence against women and girls (VAWG) type crimes each year, resulting more than 2 million victims over the next from. However, one out of every 20 adults at the least will perpetrate this violence.
The news report found crimes such as rape, domestic abuse, stalking and harassment have increased 37% in the last five years — a “shocking” rise that led to VAWG being designated by Britain’s Home Office as a national threat to public safety.
They were disclosed in a 70-page report on Tuesday, the first national assessment of domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
VAWG lead for NPCC, Maggie Blyth said: “The scale has now reached a national emergency and from what the police are seeing, violence related offences have increased to epidemic levels in terms of its scale complexity & impact on victims.”
Ms Cooper added: “We need government support and leadership to act on the problems in our justice system now — and only by doing this can we properly implement a whole-system approach of VAWG.
The new prime minister, Keir Starmer will say his Government will also accelerate plans to cut violence against women and girls by 50 per cent.
The report listed five “key dangers” to ladies and young women that represent an expected 3,000 VAWG-related violations recorded crosswise over England, Wales consistently.
In the year ending March 2023 in England and Wales, police recorded more than 100,000 rape and serious sexual offenses, more than 400,000 domestic abuse-related crimes, some 436,000 stalking and harrassment offenses, and more than 40,000 child sexual abuse and exploitation offenses, committed against girls aged between 10 and 17.
“These are cautious estimates as we know much crime goes unreported and in policing, we often only see the tip of the iceberg,” the report said.
Of the 2 million women and girls who experience violence each year, 1.4 million are subjected to domestic abuse, according to the report. In the year ending March 2023, one in every six homicides were domestic abuse-related.
In cases of rape and serious sexual offenses, suspects are more likely to be an ex- or current partner (38%) or individuals known to the victim (29%) compared to a stranger (26%).
The average suspect age in reported instances of rape and serious sexual offense in England and Wales is 37, the report said, though the recorded age range of suspects is from 10 years old to 100.
There has been a 435% increase in child sexual abuse and exploitation in England and Wales between 2013 and 2022, the report said. Of these crimes, 93% involve contact sexual offenses and sexual grooming.
The average age of victims in these cases is 13 years old, while the average age of suspects is 15 years old, it said. More than half of child sexual abuse and exploitation cases reported between January and July 2023 were also committed by children.
The police report also acknowledged that, while crimes against women and girls are increasing in number, perpetrators are often not punished for their actions.
As of March 2023, only 4.4% of domestic abuse cases recorded by police resulted in the perpetrator being convicted, the report said. The reasons for this include limited prison capacities and huge backlogs in courts.
The UK’s Minister for Safeguarding Jess Phillips wrote in a post on social media that the report’s findings show that VAWG is a “national emergency” and a “threat” to Britain’s security and prosperity.
Blyth added that the NPCC is “absolutely determined to turn the tide on violence and abuse faced by women and girls and will continue to work tirelessly to do better for victims.”
“We need the support and direction of government to lead the way on a whole-system approach to VAWG,” Blyth said.
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