New figures show that 30% of women have experienced some type of domestic abuse.
New figures show that 30% of women have experienced some type of domestic abuse.The new figures have been released as part of the Crime Survey for England and Wales. The study showed there were an estimated 406,000 victims of sexual assaults last year and nearly one million victims of stalkers. More than two-thirds of these were women.
The study found that 10% of people asked thought it “mostly or sometimes” acceptable to hit or slap their partner in response to them having an affair. There was no difference in this opinion between men or women.
Although the overall crime rate continued to fall, the figures collected did show that there had been an increase of 17% in the latest police-recorded crime figures for sexual offences. This increase was explained by the police as a result to the ‘Yewtree effect’ – increased reporting of alleged sexual abuse in the wake of publicity about Jimmy Savile.
The crime prevention minister, Norman Baker, told the Guardian it was good to see violent crime continuing to fall:
“The independent crime survey for England and Wales for 2012/13 shows the number of violent crimes at its lowest level since 1981. Police recorded crime statistics show firearms offences fell by 15% in the last financial year, knife crimes dropped by 15% and there were 13% fewer robberies, but we want to do even better,” he said.
“We are continuing to work to stamp out gang violence, tackle domestic abuse and protect vulnerable women and girls from sexual exploitation.”