Statistics

• One in four girls and one in six boys will experience childhood sexual abuse.
• One in five women over the age of 16 have experienced some form of sexual violence during their lifetime. Globally this rises to 1 in 3.
• Approximately 90% of those who are raped or sexually assaulted know the perpetrator prior to the offence.
• Only around 15% of those who experience sexual violence report to the police.

• The Crime Survey of England and Wales estimates 20% of women and 4% of men have experienced some type of sexual assault since the age of 16, equivalent to an estimated 3.4 million female victims and 631,000 male victims.
• 5 in 6 victims (83%) did not report their experiences to the police.

Sexual offences in England and Wales (March 2022)

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated that 1.1 million adults aged 16 years and over experienced sexual assault in the year ending March 2022 (798,000 women and 275,000 men). This equates to a prevalence rate of approximately 2.3% of adults (3.3% women and 1.2% men).

A total of 193,566 sexual offences were recorded by the police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2022 (the highest level recorded). This was an increase of 30,322 compared with the year ending March 2020 and an increase of 45,731 from the previous year.

Of all sexual offences recorded by the police in the year ending June 2022, 36% (70,600) were rape offences. This was a 20% increase from 59,046 in the year ending March 2020. Other sexual offences increased to 126,289 offences; a 21% rise compared with the year ending March 2020.

Other useful sources:

End Violence Against Women – Snapshot report 2022/2023

Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse – The scale and nature of CSA

Rape Crisis England & Wales – Sexual violence statistics

NSPCC – Statistics on Child Sexual Abuse 2021