Violence against women and girls covers a range of very distressing and harmful crimes. The police currently classify VAWG into nine different threats; domestic abuse, rape and serious sexual offences, stalking and harassment, child sexual abuse and exploitation, online and tech-enabled abuse, modern slavery and human trafficking, spiking, sex work and honour-based abuse.
While men and boys also suffer from many of these forms of abuse, they disproportionately affect women.
Key statistics
- A woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK.
- Violence against women and girls makes up just under 20% per cent of all recorded crime in England and Wales.
- At least 1 in every 12 women, or 2 million women, will be a victim of VAWG per year.
- 1 in 20 adults in England and Wales will be a perpetrator of VAWG each year.
We also know that VAWG crimes are often under reported, so the real figures are likely to be higher.
VAWG also includes different forms of family violence such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) and so-called ‘honour-based crimes’ that are committed by family members.
A growing problem
Nearly all forms of VAWG are expected to continue to rise in the coming year. The offences identified in the VAWG Strategic Threat and Risk Assessment as carrying the biggest threat to women are:
- Domestic abuse
- Rape and serious sexual offences
- Child sexual abuse and exploitation
- Tech enabled VAWG such as online stalking and harassment
The National Police Chief's Council reported that the policing response has been inconsistent, so there is now a national focus on supporting forces to prioritise VAWG-related crimes.