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Crimes involving violence against women and girls have increased by almost 40% in England and Wales in recent years, according to a new report.
The study, conducted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing, found that the number of recorded crimes rose from an estimated 789,703 in 2018-19 to 1,080,157 in 2022-23.
Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, deputy chief executive of the College of Policing, called violence against women and girls a “national emergency”.
Researchers found that nearly 3,000 crimes of violence against women are recorded by police every day – and at least one in 12 women are victims of them each year.
The new report, National Police Statement on Violence against Women and Girls, reveals that offences involving violence against women and girls in 2022/23 accounted for 20% of all crimes.
The study calls for the creation of a police centre called the National Centre for Public Protection to ensure that law enforcement receives specialist training and carries out preventative work to tackle the problem alongside other agencies.
It is important to remember that many survivors will not report their experiences to the police, so we know the problem will be much bigger than the data shows.
Sophie Francis-Cansfield of Women’s Aid
TV star Georgia Harrison, who was the victim of revenge porn at the hands of her former partner, reality TV star Stephen Bear, has said The Independent: “The fact that the statistics show a dramatic increase in the number of cases terrifies me.”
Bear was jailed for 21 months in March after posting a video of the couple having sex in his garden in Loughton, Essex, in August 2020 on his OnlyFans account.
Commenting on the report, Ms Harrison said: “I truly believe that misogynistic algorithms online play a huge role in the rise of violence against women and girls.
“I see it very often in young men scrolling through Instagram and the content is aimed at degrading women and encouraging sexism at all levels. I am hopeful that the Labour Party will change this.”
Mrs Harrison, who appeared on The only way is Essex And The island of love, She called on men to treat their partners as they would like their mother, daughter, sister or aunt to be treated – “with love and respect.”
Ms Blyth, who is also the NPCC’s lead for violence against women and girls, said: “We know that continued improvement is needed to strengthen the police response to violence against women and girls.
“Improvements must be driven nationally, ensuring consistency across forces to provide victims with the service they expect and deserve.”
She said a centralised centre within the police force combining “specialist skill sets” would enable police forces to improve how they deal with crimes involving violence against women.
I truly believe that misogynistic online algorithms play a major role in the rise of violence against women and girls.
Georgia Harrison
Ms Blyth added: “However, this will only deliver progress as part of a broader and more effective criminal justice system, which is currently overstretched and underperforming for victims.
“Violence against women and girls is a national emergency. We need the support and direction of government to step in and address the current issues within the criminal justice system and lead the way in a systemic approach to violence against women and girls.
“We aspire to a situation where an effective criminal justice response to violence against women and girls is the last resort.”
The report reveals that child sexual abuse and exploitation increased by more than 400% between 2013 and 2022.
Researchers found that one in six murders were linked to domestic violence in 2022/23 and that arrests for domestic violence-related offences increased by 22% in the year ending March 2023, compared with the previous period.
Despite this, many victims find themselves homeless or forced to return to their abusers due to a chronic shortage of shelter spaces nationwide.
The study estimates that one in 20 people perpetrate violence against women and girls each year – although the true scale of the problem appears much worse.
Sophie Francis-Cansfield, of Women’s Aid, a leading domestic violence charity, said: “It’s important to remember that many victims don’t report their experiences to the police, so we know the problem will be much bigger than the data shows.”
She called for collaboration between government, the criminal justice system and experts.
Abigail Ampofo, interim chief executive of Refuge, a domestic violence charity with whom The Independent The attorney general’s office said the report contained a “glaring omission” about how the police approach “cultural change and address institutional misogyny.”
She added: “Without continued and relentless attention to rooting out the perpetrators of police violence against women and girls, we fear that these perpetrators will remain within the police ranks.
“How can we be sure that the police are treating violence against women and girls as a strategic priority if they are not even tracking down offenders within their own ranks?”
Responding to the recent Angiolini report, commissioned after the murder of Sarah Everard by Constable Wayne Couzens, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “We must go further and faster to regain the trust of all those whose confidence in the police has been shaken by the events of recent years.”
