Around one in 10 people aged 16 and over in England and Wales were victims of at least one of the crime types of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking in the year to March, new estimates suggest.
The figure is closer to one in eight for women, while for men it is slightly lower at about one in 12.
It is the first time an estimate has been made of the combined prevalence of domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking.
The figures have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using data collected as part of the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
The survey measures experiences of crime, with domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking referred to as “crime types” because in some cases a criminal offence may not have occurred.
Some 10.6% of all people aged 16 and over are likely to have experienced one or more of these crime types in the year to March 2025, with 12.8% for women and 8.4% for men.
The figures equate to an estimated 5.1 million people aged 16 and over in England and Wales, of which 3.2 million are women and nearly 2.0 million are men, the ONS said.
A slightly higher estimate of 5.4 million people or 11.3% has been made for the previous 12 months – the year to March 2024 – which equates to 3.4 million women (14.0%) and 2.0 million men (8.6%).
The ONS said that because these estimates are still in development and are subject to change, caution should be taken when making comparisons between the two years and is it not possible to say whether the difference is statistically significant.
The new estimate of the prevalence of domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking will be used as the main way for the Government to track its efforts on tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG).
Ministers have promised to halve levels in a decade, and are expected to set out more details on how the data will be used in its VAWG strategy that will be published later this year.
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
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