Key Points
- Prevalence of domestic abuse: 9.6% of adults aged 16 and over in England and Wales – around 4.7 million adults – had experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2026, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).
- Increase on last year: The rate increased from 7.8%, or about 3.8 million people, in the year ending March 2025.
- Key driver: The increase was driven by intimate partner abuse, which increased from 6.1% to 7.9%.
- Family abuse: There was no significant increase in abuse by family members, which only increased from 2.7% to 2.8%.
- Caveats: The ONS stated that any small differences due to changes to the survey, as well as the potential for uncertainty in the measurement of sensitive experiences, could have contributed to the estimate, however, their best judgement is that the increase is genuine.
- Other types of abuse: 2.1% of adults, or about 1 million people, experienced sexual victimisation, while 3.9%, or about 1.9 million people, experienced stalking. These figures are not comparable to previous years due to different questions being asked.
- Combined measure: 10.9% of adults – around 5.3 million people – had experienced either domestic abuse, sexual victimisation or stalking.
Wales (Wales Times) October 22, 2026 – Almost one in 10 adults in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse in the latest survey year, according to official figures showing an estimated 4.7 million people aged 16 and over were affected.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), estimated that 9.6% of adults experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2026. This was up from 7.8% — around 3.8 million people in the previous survey year.
As reported by Ian Jones of the Press Association in the Evening Standard, the ONS described the rise as a “significant increase” and said it indicated “real change” in the prevalence of domestic abuse.
The figures were published separately from the survey’s headline crime estimates because domestic abuse, sexual victimisation and stalking are collected through a private self-completion section of the CSEW. The ONS says this approach is more reliable for measuring domestic abuse than police-recorded crime data.
What Did the ONS Survey Find?
The survey found that domestic abuse affected both women and men, although the reported rate was higher among women. According to figures reported by Metro, 11.5% of women said they had experienced domestic abuse in the latest year, up from 9.1%, while the rate among men rose from 6.5% to 7.6%.
The increase was largely linked to abuse by an intimate partner. Partner abuse rose from 6.1% of adults in the previous year to 7.9% in the year ending March 2026, an increase of almost two percentage points.
By contrast, the ONS recorded no statistically significant change in abuse by family members. The rate increased from 2.7% to 2.8%, a rise of 0.1 percentage points.
How Reliable Are the New Figures?
The ONS cautioned that the estimate may have been influenced by minor changes to the survey and by the uncertainty involved in collecting data on sensitive subjects. However, it said its best assessment was that the increase reflected genuine change rather than being solely the result of sampling uncertainty or question changes.
The CSEW is a face-to-face household survey involving more than 30,000 adults each year. The latest domestic abuse statistics relate to the financial year ending March 2026.
The ONS has also redeveloped the questions used to measure domestic abuse, sexual victimisation and stalking. It said the new domestic abuse questions provide a better measure, but the changes mean some measures cannot yet be compared directly with earlier years.
What About Sexual Victimisation and Stalking?
Alongside domestic abuse, the survey estimated that 2.1% of adults — around 1 million people — experienced sexual victimisation in the year ending March 2026. A further 3.9%, or an estimated 1.9 million people, experienced stalking.
The ONS said these figures should not be compared with previous estimates because the survey questions were redeveloped to improve measurement.
Taken together, 10.9% of adults aged 16 and over — about 5.3 million people — experienced at least one of domestic abuse, sexual victimisation or stalking during the year.
Among women, the combined figure was 12.8%, equivalent to about 3.2 million people. Among men, it was 8.9%, or around 2.1 million people.
What Have Charities Said?
As reported by The Guardian via UA.News, the charity Refuge said the data were concerning and called for stable, long-term funding for specialised support services for survivors.
Women’s Aid also responded to the publication. Its chief executive, Farah Nazeer, said the charity was “deeply troubled” by the ONS figures showing a significant increase in people experiencing domestic abuse compared with the previous year.
Nazeer said that one in 10 people had experienced domestic abuse in the last year and that one in eight women had experienced at least one of domestic abuse, sexual victimisation or stalking. She added that, because of the new questions and data-collection methods, crime trends could not yet be identified, but the figures showed how many people were affected.
Background of the Development
The Crime Survey for England and Wales is an annual ONS survey that asks people aged 16 and over in households about their experiences of crime during the previous 12 months, whether or not incidents were reported to police.
Domestic abuse, sexual victimisation and stalking are asked in a separate self-completion module to protect respondent privacy. The ONS says this method is designed to produce a more reliable measure of these offences than police-recorded crime statistics, which depend on reporting to and recording by police forces.
From April 2025, the ONS introduced new domestic abuse questions and updated its stalking and sexual victimisation modules. The changes were intended to reflect legislative developments and the changing nature of domestic abuse, but they mean the latest figures form a new baseline for some measures.
The ONS had previously delayed publication of the domestic abuse, stalking and combined-measure estimates from its July 2026 crime bulletin to complete quality assurance and further analysis.
Prediction: What This Means for Survivors and Support Services
The figures are likely to increase attention on demand for domestic abuse support services across England and Wales. If the ONS assessment of a real rise is borne out by future survey years, local authorities, police forces and specialist charities may face greater pressure to provide refuge places, counselling, advocacy and prevention programmes.
For survivors, the publication may improve awareness that domestic abuse includes abuse by partners as well as family members, and that survey-based estimates capture experiences beyond those recorded by police. The ONS says its self-completion survey is more reliable for measuring domestic abuse than police-recorded crime data.
For policymakers, the data will be closely examined against the government’s stated aim of halving violence against women and girls. Metro reported that a charity warned the rise may signal difficulty in reaching that target, although the ONS has said the survey changes limit immediate trend comparisons.
For readers and community organisations, the figures underline the importance of signposting confidential support and treating domestic abuse as an issue affecting millions of adults, rather than a private matter confined to individual households.
