Violence against women and girls is a “national emergency” with nearly 3,000 crimes recorded every day, according to a new report.
More than one million violent crimes against women and girls were recorded by police in 2022/23, according to a report commissioned by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing.
Police records show violence against women and girls increased by 37% from 2018/19 to 2022/23. The age of offenders is also getting younger, with the average age of a suspect for child sexual abuse and exploitation now 15.
Lynn Perry, Barnardo’s chief executive, said:
“As a society, we need to think long and hard about why so many women and girls are experiencing violence and sexual abuse. It’s also deeply concerning that the average age of a suspect in a child sexual abuse and exploitation case is now as low as 15.
“We know from our work supporting children across the UK that sexual abuse and exploitation can have life-long consequences and victims must be able to access specialist local support.
“To turn the tide, we need to tackle the root causes – including by strengthening the regulation of online content so that extreme, violent pornography is banned in the same way it is on DVDs or in magazines.
“Children should also receive relevant, age-appropriate relationships, sex and health education that takes account of the modern world they live in and the influence of harmful material they can encounter at the click of a button, as well as the risk of contact from people asking them for inappropriate images.”