Research > Crime and individuals
Domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking
This report examines the British Crime Survey 2004/05 and tries to draw out patterns in offending with respect to domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. The most notable trend is significant falls in both domestic violence and 'acquaintance' violence over the past 10 years.
Title: Domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking: findings from
the 2004/05 British Crime Survey
Authors: Andrea Finney
Series: Home Office Online Report 12/06
Number of pages: 39
Date published: May 2006
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Domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking are serious public health and criminal justice problems. This report presents key findings from the 2004/05 British Crime Survey (BCS) self-completion module on the following topics:
Partner abuse (non-sexual): non-sexual emotional or financial abuse, threats or physical force by a current or former partner.
Family abuse (non-sexual): non-sexual emotional or financial abuse, threats or physical force by a family member other than a partner. This is the first national measure of family abuse.
Sexual assault: indecent exposure, sexual threats and unwanted touching ('less serious'), rape or assault by penetration including attempts ('serious'), by any person including a partner or family member.
Stalking: two or more incidents – causing distress, fear or alarm – of obscene/threatening unwanted letters or phone calls, waiting or loitering around home or workplace, following or watching, or interfering with or damaging personal property by any person including a partner or family member.
Collectively these are referred to here as intimate violence reflecting either the intimate nature of the victim-offender relationship or of the violence or abuse. Identification of the relationship between victim and offender in incidents of sexual assault and stalking enables measures of 'any partner abuse' and 'any family abuse' to be included for the first time.
Key points
Long term trends in violent crime as measured by the BCS, have shown a significant decline since their peak in 1995, in particular there have been large falls in both domestic and acquaintance violence. Between 1995 and 2004/05, domestic violence has fallen by 59% and acquaintance violence has fallen by 54%.
Women were more likely than men to report having had experienced intimate violence across all four forms since the age of 16. The differences in relation to experience in the last year were less marked.
Prevalence of intimate violence since the age of 16, 2004/05 BCS
Partner abuse (non-sexual) was more likely to have been experienced since the age of 16 by women (28%) and men (18%) than other forms.
In the last 12 months, however, stalking was more likely to have been experienced by both women (9%) and men (9%) than any other form.
A half of women (50%) and a third of men (35%) who had experienced intimate violence since the age of 16 had experienced more than one type of intimate violence in that time.
Among intimate violence victims, two in five women (40%) and almost a third of men (31%) had experienced some form of intimate abuse by offenders of more than one relationship type.
Among victims of less serious sexual assault, almost two-thirds of women (62%) reported that the offender was a stranger. Men were more likely to report the offender as someone known to them in some way, rather than a stranger.
Offenders of serious sexual assault against both men and women were more likely to have been reported as being known to the victim than as being a stranger.
Marital status (especially being unmarried), being young and having a limiting disability or illness were found to be independently associated with intimate violence across the forms for men and women (it should be noted that association does not however prove causation).
The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 increases the protection, support and rights of victims and witnesses, and gives the police and other agencies the tools to address domestic violence crimes. The 2005 Domestic Violence National Action Plan set out proposals to reduce the prevalence of domestic violence, increase victim reporting to the police, improve support for victims and bring more perpetrators to justice.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003, introduced in May 2004, has clarified the law in relation to sexual assault, for example, by establishing a legal definition of 'consent'. It also created new offences and strengthened sentences. The existing network of sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) has been extended with £4 million being invested into SARCs and other voluntary sector counselling and support services for victims of sexual crime over the past two years. This all builds on an extensive range of policy interventions, nationally and locally, over the past decade aiming to reduce the incidence of sexual and domestic violence and improve the treatment of victims by the criminal justice system. For further information, see http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/.
Last update: 01 June 2006