How Common is Domestic Violence?

The 1996 British Crime Survey is generally accepted as a good reflection of the problem of domestic violence within our society. It is well worth noting however that we can only record reported instances of domestic violence. Without doubt there are many instances that never get reported. The report found:

Woman are far more likely to say they have experienced domestic violence at some point in their lives. 23% of women compared to 15% of men say they have been subjected to physical violence. When you include ‘threats against the person’ the figures rise to 26% and 17% respectively
At least 12% of women and 5% of men say they been assaulted on 3 or more occasions
Young women (aged 20-24) report the highest levels of domestic violence. 28% said they had been assaulted and 34 % said they had been threatened or assaulted by a partner at some point
Pushing, shoving and grabbing are the most common type of assault, but kicking, slapping and hitting with fists took place in nearly half of all incidents
Nearly all women said they were upset by their experience
Of the women who had children in the household, about a third said that the children had been aware of the assault they had experienced
Virtually all incidents against women (99%) were committed by men. 95% of all incidents against men were committed by women
About half of victims had told someone about their most recent assault: most often a friend or neighbour
The police were only told of 12% of incidents. They offered support and advice in 60% of these incidents