§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women have been victims of domestic violence in each of the last five years. [59850]
§ Mr. DenhamDomestic violence is not separately identified in recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) collects figures from police forces on the number of recorded incidents of domestic violence. Incidents can be counted in the HMIC figures regardless of whether or not the incident is subsequently recorded as a crime, and all incidents initially recorded as domestic violence are counted regardless of the final outcome.
The British Crime Survey (BCS) can provide trend information on the number of incidents of domestic violence against women.
Number of BCS incidents of domestic violence against women, 1997 to 2000 Thousands Year Number 1997 583 1999 560 2000 354 Source:
1998. 2000 and 2001 British Crime Surveys
The 2001 British Crime Survey estimates that there were, in total 354,000 incidents of domestic violence against women in England and Wales in 2000. This was a decrease from the previous sweep, the 2000 BCS, which estimated there were 560,000 incidents against women in the year preceding that survey (1999). This in turn was a reduction from the 1998 BCS, which estimated that there were 583,000 incidents of domestic violence suffered by women in 1997 in England and Wales.