Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that around 900,000 people had experienced sex assault, including attempted offences
Alarming data shows nearly two in 10 adults in England and Wales were victims of sex assault in the year to March.
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate around 900,000 over-16s experienced sexual assault, including attempted offences, in that time. The grim stats also reveal that one in eight women experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking in that time.
Statisticians say the figures have not changed drastically in the past year, while overall crime has fallen dramatically in the past decade. Labour has promised to halve cases of violence against women and girls within the next 10 years after describing it as a “national emergency” when it came to power.
The latest ONS crime figures also show:
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7.8% of people aged 16 years and over (around 3.8 million people) had experienced domestic abuse in the last year
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2.9% (around 1.4 million people) had experienced stalking
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1.9% (around 900,000 people) had experienced sexual assault
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8.6% (around 4.2 million people) had experienced some form of harassment
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) did however find that knife crime and robberies fell slightly in the year to March. But shoplifting continued to rocket to record levels, and fraud was at record levels.
There were an estimated 53,685 crimes involving knives or sharp incidents, the data shows – a 1% fall. Firearm offences dropped by 21%, while there was a 3% fall in robberies, down to 78,804 cases from over 81,000 a year earlier.
But a record 530,643 shoplifting offences were reported – the highest figure since current recording processes began in 2003.
A massive rise in fraud – which went up by 31% – meant that over-16s experienced 9.4million incidents of crime, up from 8.8million the year before, ONS said.
This included 4.2 million fraud cases, the highest on record. But there has been a sharp drop in overall crime in the past decade.
The overall total of 9.4 million crimes is 16% lower than the total of 11.2 million for 2016/17. Lib Dem home affairs spokeswoman Lisa Smart said: “Every day, thousands of innocent victims are being left without the justice they deserve after falling victim to heartless criminals. It is an absolute scandal.
“The previous Conservative government left behind a legacy of failure, but the Labour government has not been quick enough to address the unsolved crime epidemic – particularly as shoplifting spirals out of control.
“This neglect of victims cannot be allowed to continue. Our high streets and communities deserve better than this. If the Government wants to deliver safer streets, cracking down on the unsolved shoplifting epidemic must take priority.
“Scrapping wasteful Police and Crime Commissioners is the first step towards returning to real community policing and getting more bobbies on the beat.”