Citizen’s Advice, says domestic violence 'haunts the lives of too many women’ Domestic violence in the UK is disturbingly high, said the Citizens Advice on International Women’s Day. Despite the British Crime Survey reporting a 40 percent decline in incidents of domestic violence since 1995, recent figures reveal that 13,500 people – 80 percent of them women – reported domestic violence to Citizens Advice last year.
There were 3,300 reported incidents between October and December 2012, an 11percent increase on the same period the previous year. Although the figures should be treated with a degree of caution – a spike in reports of domestic violence, often considered to be a hidden crime, can arise as women feel more able to report it – Citizens Advice is sufficiently concerned to open specialist services for victims in 10 of its UK offices.
"These figures for domestic violence cases show it is disturbingly high and afflicts all levels of society – it haunts the lives of too many women and children," said Gillian Guy, Citizens Advice chief executive.
Guy is urging the prime minister to honour a promise made today on International Women's Day to tackle the problem, she added: "As the scale of government cuts start to bite, we are concerned that our trend highlights how levels of domestic violence could get even worse. We need to see the government doing everything it can to deal with the problems of violence against women in our society and ensure they get the support they need."
The figures don’t end there, according to the Home Office, 1.2 million women experienced domestic abuse last year in the UK, including half a million victims of sexual assault.
In addition, research from Women's Aid and Refuge – the largest provider of accommodation for domestic violence victims – reveals that, despite high-profile campaigns, many women, particularly teenagers, do not know where to turn for help if they are being abused.
The organisations, backed by Avon which financed a survey of more than 2,000 UK women, found a third did not know where to seek support, while among 16- to 18-year-olds the figure rose to 50 per cent.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Browne, Britain’s Home Office minister for crime prevention, said: "Domestic and sexual violence are dreadful crimes and we are serious about tackling the abuse suffered by women and girls across the country. Through our This is Abuse campaign, we have taken great strides in challenging unacceptable attitudes in teenage relationships and in helping teenagers to recognise abuse when they see it."