One in 10 adults in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse in last year, ONS finds

Almost one in 10 adults in England and Wales have experienced domestic abuse in the last year, a survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found.The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) found that 9.6% of people aged 16 and over had experienced domestic abuse in the last year – which equates to about 4.7 million people.This marked an increase compared with the year to September 2025, when the same survey found that 7.8% of adults – about 3.8 million people – had experienced domestic abuse.Domestic abuse charities said the figures were concerning, as they indicated the government was “not on track to fulfil its pledge” to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade.The increase was driven by a significant rise in intimate partner abuse, which had risen by almost 2% compared with the previous year; there was no significant difference in family abuse, which had only grown by 0.1%.The survey also found that 2.1% of people, equating to about 1 million, had experienced sexual victimisation, and 3.9%, or about 1.9 million, had experienced stalking. These figures were based on new questions, so are not comparable with previous estimates.The ONS estimates that in total, 10.9% of people aged 16 years and over, or about 5.3 million adults, had experienced at least one of the three crimes of domestic abuse, sexual victimisation, and stalking.Prevelance was higher among female victims, standing at 12.8%, or about 3.2 million women. But 8.9% of men – about 2.1 million – were also affected.Meghan Elkin, head of crime statistics at the ONS, said: “While minor survey changes and the usual uncertainty around gathering data on this sensitive topic are likely to have affected these estimates, our assessment is that the rise in domestic abuse includes real change. More data points are needed to further understand the uncertainty and what this tells us about trends in domestic abuse.”The statistics will be used as the main measure for monitoring the government’s ambition to halve violence against women and girls.The CSEW is a face-to-face household survey based on more than 30,000 adult interviews annually. The data is released by financial year, with this year’s statistics relating to the year ending March 2026.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionAlice Russell-Harris, the public affairs lead at Refuge, said: “The government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls … by 2034, but latest domestic abuse data from the ONS tells a troubling story.” She added: “This figure reflects what we sadly know to be true at Refuge: domestic abuse is devastating an unacceptable number of lives.“Domestic abuse often goes unseen and unreported, so these figures likely represent the tip of the iceberg. While ONS has highlighted that changes in data collection, such as the introduction and implementation of new survey questions, may have contributed to this increase, what remains steadfast is our concern that the government is not on track to fulfil its pledge.”She called for “vital investment” before next week’s autumn budget, saying she urged the government “to provide the vital investment required to meet rising demand”.“Refuge has been clear that this ambitious goal is simply not achievable without sustainable, long-term funding for specialist domestic abuse services,” she said, “but we have yet to see a financial commitment that matches the scale needed for every survivor to access timely support.“Specialist support services, and the survivors which depend on them, cannot afford to bear the brunt of underfunding any longer.” In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.