A rise in the number of people who have experienced domestic abuse may signal trouble for the government’s target of halving violence against women and girls, a charity has warned.
New figures released today by the Office for National Statistics show around 4.7 million people aged 16 and over in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse in the year up to March 2026.
That represents around 9.6% of all the people in the age range across the two countries – up from 7.8% of those in that cohort the previous year.
While some of the shift could be explained by survey tweaks, the ONS said its ‘best assessment’ suggests it ‘includes real change rather than solely being the result of sampling uncertainty and question changes’.
Domestic abuse charity Refuge said the latest statistics feed its ‘concern that the government is not on track to fulfil its pledge [on tackling violence against women and girls]’.
Alice Russell-Harris, the charity’s public affairs lead, warned that achieving the goal is ‘simply not achievable without sustainable, long-term funding for specialist domestic abuse services’.
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She added that Refuge is ‘yet to see a financial commitment that matches the scale needed for every survivor to access timely support’.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said: ‘The scale of domestic abuse in this country is completely shocking, but we are determined to tackle it.
‘We are embedding domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms and rolling out pioneering Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, to ensure victims have the protection they need.
‘Backed by £53million, we are rolling out the pioneering Drive Project, to tackle the highest harm perpetrators, stop reoffending and protect victims – all part of mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.’
What else does the latest crime data show?
One of the more eye-catching details in the latest release of crime statistics is a significant jump in charges for rape and sexual offences.
The number of sexual offences charges has risen by almost a quarter – from 19,779 to 24,587 – between the year ending June 2025 and the year ending June 2026.
Over the same period, the number of rape charges increased by almost 30% from 5,746 to 7,445.
The number of rape offences and sexual offences recorded by police also rose, by 2.3% and 3.9% respectively.
Satvir Kaur, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said the statistics were ‘encouraging’.
She told Metro: ‘Violence against women and girls is a stain on our society.
‘The process of tackling it starts by identifying it – and for too long, victims and survivors have not come forward.
‘So, it is encouraging to see in today’s data that more victims and survivors are coming forward.
‘It is also encouraging to see charges of rape and sexual offence have increased, meaning more victims are getting the justice they deserve.
‘But I know there is so much more we must do. The scale of the challenge is huge, so our ambition to tackle it must be too. That is why we are deploying the full power of the state to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
‘We have recently accelerated the deadline for police forces to have specialist rape and sexual offence teams in place to December 2027.
‘We are rolling out pioneering Domestic Abuse Protection Orders to give victims stronger protections. And we are embedding domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms.
‘We will never give up in this fight. We will do whatever it takes to make this country safe for women and girls.’
According to the data, which comes from the Crime Survey of England and Wales, cases of domestic abuse increased for both women and men in the year leading to March 2026 compared to the 12 months before.
The survey found that 11.5% of women had experienced domestic abuse in the most recent year, up from 9.1%. For men, the figure increased from 6.5% to 7.6%.
It shows the rise appears to have been driven by a sharp jump in partner abuse – up from 6.1% the previous year to 7.9% – with no comparable change in family abuse.
Alice Russell-Harris said: ‘Ahead of next week’s Autumn Budget, we urge the Government to provide the vital investment required to meet rising demand.
‘Specialist support services, and the survivors which depend on them, cannot afford to bear the brunt of underfunding any longer.’
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