London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Coronavirus: Domestic abuse offences increased during pandemic

Coronavirus: Domestic abuse offences increased during pandemic

The number of domestic abuse offences recorded by police in England and Wales has increased during the pandemic.

But the Office for National Statistics said such offences gradually rose in recent years so it cannot be determined if it was related to the pandemic.

Police recorded 259,324 domestic abuse offences between March and June - 7% up on the same period in 2019.

During and after the first lockdown in April, May and June, roughly one-fifth of offences involved domestic abuse.

The ONS data, released on Wednesday, includes information from a range of sources - including police forces' own figures on the number of offences recorded and then flagged as related to domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is not a specific criminal offence, so police record incidents under the type of offence (for example, assault with injury) but then flag that it is related to domestic abuse.

In April, May and June - which covers the period during and immediately after the first national coronavirus lockdown - domestic abuse offences took up a larger proportion of all offences compared to previous years.

Around 20% of all offences recorded by police were flagged as domestic abuse related during these months - compared to less than 15% in previous years.

The number of offences also rose each month, the figures showed.

'If I hadn't got out in lockdown I would be dead'


One woman, Davina, told the BBC that it was increased time at home with her abuser that made her seek help.

"Lockdown was the worst time in my life," she told BBC Scotland's The Nine programme. "That was when I first paid attention to Women's Aid, I wondered if they could get me out the situation, so took the number from the television.

"I wasn't allowed to use the phone in the house so I took the number and went out with the dog and I phoned it.

"I wasn't ready to go but they had nowhere for me anyway. But I was in constant contact with Rebecca from Women's Aid and she helped me eventually leave.

"If it hadn't been for them I don't know what would have happened. I think eventually I would be dead. Mentally, physically, emotionally - I couldn't do it any more."

Davina was allocated a place in a refuge and although she says it took her a month to stop waking up in the night crying, she finally feels safe.

As the lockdown eased, the proportion of offences flagged as domestic abuse went down. But this was likely because the overall amount of criminal offences increased when lockdown was lifted.

Between March and June, police recorded 206,492 "violence against the person" offences that were flagged as domestic abuse - a 9% rise on the same period in 2019.

The "violence against the person" category includes offences such as harassment, assault and murder. Other offences outside this category can also be flagged as linked to domestic abuse, such as sexual offences.

And provisional data showed there were 64 domestic homicides in England and Wales recorded by police between January and June 2020 - 30 of them in the period between April and June.

This is nearly 10 more than the same period in 2019, although the figure is slightly lower than in 2018.

"The number of domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police continued to increase in the year ending March 2020; this may reflect improvements in police recording and an increase in victims' willingness to come forward," said Helen Ross, from the ONS's Centre for Crime and Justice.

"Up-to-date evidence shows this increase continued into the lockdown period - however, it cannot be determined whether this can be directly attributed to the coronavirus pandemic."

Ms Ross added that data showed there had been an increase in demand for domestic abuse support services during the pandemic, particularly following the easing of lockdown measures.

"Data suggests that experiences of domestic abuse may have intensified during the lockdown and that victims faced difficulties in safely seeking support under these conditions," she said.

Charities dealing with domestic abuse have reported a surge in appeals for help since the start of the pandemic.

Earlier this week, train companies and charity Women's Aid confirmed they were extending a scheme that offers free travel to people fleeing domestic abuse.

The "Rail to Refuge" scheme - which provides free tickets for women, men and children travelling to refuge services - will continue until March next year.

The charity New Era, which helps victims in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, said the ONS figures was "more disturbing" evidence and showed there was "more to do to tackle and end relationship abuse".

Meanwhile, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced that £3.7m of City Hall and government money would be invested in measures to support victims of domestic abuse.

He said it would be funding new "safe spaces" for victims, training for police and schemes focused on perpetrators, adding: "Sadly, we already know that during lockdown home is not always a safe place for everyone."


Coronavirus: Domestic abuse - ‘You’re with each other 24/7'


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×