Domestic Abuse

Many of the issues for male and female victims are the same (the controlling nature of abuse, the cycle of abuse, the complexities of leaving, the damaging effects on the children etc.)


Some facts and figures

An estimated 2.0 million adults aged 16 to 59 years experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2018, equating to a prevalence rate of approximately 6 in 100 adults. Women were estimated to be twice as likely, to have experienced domestic abuse than men (7.9% compared with 4.2%). This equates to an estimated 1.3 million female victims and 695,000 male victims.

As there is year-to-year variability in the volume of homicides recorded, this analysis combines data for a three-year period (April 2014 to March 2017) to provide more robust results. The analysis shows:

There were a total of 400 domestic homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales between April 2014 and March 2017; this represents 25% of all homicides where the victim was aged 16 years and over during this time period

The majority of victims of domestic homicides were female (73%, or 293), with 27% of victims being male (107); this contrasts with victims of non-domestic homicides, where the majority of victims were male (88%, or 730) and 12% of victims were female

Four in five female victims of domestic homicide were killed by a partner or ex-partner (239, 82%); of which the majority of the suspects were male (238). Of these 239 females, 103 were killed by a spouse or civil partner, 49 were killed by their common-law spouse or cohabiting partner, 40 were killed by a boyfriend or girlfriend and 25 were killed by an ex-spouse, ex-common law spouse or ex-cohabiting partner

Only 3% of female victims (8) were killed by a female, five of which were killed by other family members, such as siblings and other relatives

6 in 10 male victims of domestic homicide (61%) were killed by another male, a higher proportion of male victims were killed by a family member than females (58% compared with 18% respectively) around half (42%) of male victims were killed by a partner or ex-partner (7 male suspects and 38 female suspects)


Get Help

Mens Help Line 

Womens Help Line

  • Freephone – 0808 2000 247 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)