How long do people live with domestic abuse?

Getting help for domestic abuse

• 85% of victims sought help on average five times from professionals in the year before they got effective help to stop the abuse. ^{1SafeLives. (2023). Insights Dataset 2023, SafeLives: Bristol.}
• On average victims experience 50 incidents of abuse before getting effective help. ^{2FearFree. (2023). Our Vision and Values.}
• Each year there are over 1 million calls to police in England and Wales about domestic abuse, and on average someone contacts the police every 30 seconds for help with domestic abuse. ^{3HMIC (2014), Everyone’s Business: Improving the police response to domestic abuse. London: HMIC.}
• 78% of high-risk victims report the abuse to the police in the year before they get effective help, on average 2.8 times each. ^{4SafeLives. (2023). Insights Dataset 2023, SafeLives: Bristol.}
• 68% of high-risk victims try to leave in the year before getting effective help, on average 2 or 3 times each. ^{5SafeLives. (2023). Insights Dataset 2023, SafeLives: Bristol.}
• 23% of high-risk victims attend A&E as a result of their injuries in the year before getting effective help, many multiple times. ^{6SafeLives. (2023). Insights Dataset 2023, SafeLives: Bristol.}
• A third (34%) of children in high-risk domestic abuse households are not known to children’s social care. ^{7SafeLives. (2022). Children’s Insights dataset 2021-2022. SafeLives: Bristol.}
• At least 80% of children in domestic abuse households are known to at least one public agency ^{8Caada (2014), In Plain Sight: Effective help for children exposed to domestic abuse: 2nd national policy report. Bristol: Caada.}

Domestic abuse crimes and convictions

• There are 890,000 crimes reported each year related to domestic abuse in England and Wales.^{9Crime Survey England and Wales. (2022). Domestic abuse prevalence and trends, England and Wales.}
• There are 33,000 domestic abuse-related sexual offences, 680,000 violence against person offences were flagged as domestic abuse related^{10SafeLives. (2022). Insights Outreach dataset 2021-2022. SafeLives: Bristol.} and 28,000 domestic abuse-related harassment and stalking crimes were charged by the Crown Prosecution Service. ^{11Crown Prosecution Service (2019). Domestic Abuse-flagged harassment and stalking offences charged and reaching a first hearing in magistrates’ courts 2010-2019. CPS: London.}
• In 2020, domestic abuse-related crime forms 15% of total crime, and 16% of all sexual offences, 35% of all violence against person crimes, and 40% of all recorded harassment crimes in England and Wales. ^{12Crown Prosecution Service (2019). Domestic Abuse-flagged harassment and stalking offences charged and reaching a first hearing in magistrates’ courts 2010-2019. CPS: London.}
• In 2022-2023, there were more than 51,000 prosecutions for domestic abuse offences. The conviction rate for domestic violence offences in England and Wales was 76%.^{13Crime Survey England and Wales. (2022). Domestic abuse prevalence and trends, England and Wales.}
• 64% of all harassment and stalking prosecutions and 77% of all restraining order breaches in England and Wales in 2013-14 were domestic violence related. ^{14Crown Prosecution Service (2019). Domestic Abuse-flagged harassment and stalking offences charged and reaching a first hearing in magistrates’ courts 2010-2019. CPS: London.}