The impact of domestic abuse

Poverty 

• In a University of Bristol research paper, researchers address DVA’s connections with socio-economic disadvantage and social welfare, affirming the consistent association between vulnerability to DVA and low income, economic strain, and benefit receipt. The report addresses how few UK interventions have focused on practical financial, employment or educational skills for survivors of domestic violence. In addition, existing theory and evidence examined in this report suggest a complex set of relationships and interdependencies underpin the observed association between poverty and DVA. Gendered assumptions about the allocation of household resources and caring responsibilities are also central in shaping women’s vulnerability to DVA (Fahmy, Williamson and Pantazis, 2019).  
• One research report found that 14% of women in poverty have faced extensive violence and abuse, compared to women not in poverty (6%) (from a sample of 1,185 women in poverty and 2,884 women not in poverty) (McManus & Scott with Sosenko, 2016).  

Black and minoritised survivors 

• A survey of women using specialist BMER (Black, Minority Ethnic and Refugee) domestic abuse services found that 96% reported experiencing psychological, emotional and verbal abuse, 72% had experienced physical violence and 30% had experienced attempted and/or threats of murder from the perpetrator(s) (Thiara and Roy, 2012, p.10).   
• Some Black and minoritised women are at a higher than usual risk of repeat victimisation and face extra barriers to reporting abuse and seeking help. For example, over half (50.6%) of women supported by the No Woman Turned Away project in 2024 had no recourse to public funds. Of the 342 women who engaged and completed their support in 2024, 173 were from Black and minoritised backgrounds, reflecting the barriers that Black and minoritised women face when attempting to access places of safety (Women’s Aid, 2024a).
• Some Black and minoritised women face specific pressures from her family and community not to report abuse, as this can bring shame on the woman herself, as well as the perpetrator and extended family. They may also face acute cultural pressure to remain in a marriage whatever the cost. Many Black and minoritised survivors may have a deep distrust and fear of the police due to racism and over-policing in their communities. These fears extend to very real and valid concerns regarding data sharing between police and immigration enforcement for women with insecure immigration status (Centre for Women’s Justice and Imkaan, 2023).  

Older women 

• Older women are underrepresented in domestic abuse service use, despite evidence to suggest that they experience domestic abuse at similar rates to younger women. It is estimated that at least one in six older people experience some form of violence or abuse by a partner, family member or carer each year, and official statistics on homicide show that women aged 75 and over are disproportionately victimised (Bows, 2019). Recent analysis found that approximately one in four (25%) domestic homicides in England and Wales between 2010 and 2015 involved a victim aged 60 and over. Among these, the majority of victims were female (67%) and the majority of perpetrators were male (81%) (Bows, 2019).    
• Across the Domestic Homicide Project’s four-year dataset, the majority of Adult Family Homicide (the killing of an adult by a family member, excluding current or former intimate partners) victims were older, with the most prevalent age group being victims aged 65 years or older (Hoeger et al, 2025).   
• Older women were underrepresented in national On Track data for 2023-2024. Only 2.5% of service users in the total sample were 65 or over and this fell to 0.7% in refuge services (Women’s Aid, 2025).

Pregnancy 

• Research on the prevalence of domestic abuse among all pregnant women varies in its results, with estimates ranging from 0.9 to 20.1%. Smaller scale studies have produced prevalence estimates towards the higher end of the range; one survey disseminated to 500 women at an antenatal booking clinic in a north of England hospital found that the prevalence of domestic abuse in the cohort of pregnant women was 17%. Comparable research undertaken at an antenatal booking clinic in Ireland produced a prevalence rate of 12.9%. The wide variation between estimates reflects differences in research design and population sampled. In addition, few studies have included emotional abuse in their definition of domestic abuse (BMA Board of Science, 2007, updated 2014).  
• In 2019, Women’s Aid developed a toolkit with the Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection at the University of Stirling; the toolkit focusses on the mother-infant relationship, adding to the growing evidence base of the harm children experience when domestic abuse occurs. Women’s Aid maintain that negative outcomes are not inevitable; children do develop coping strategies, and can be supported to recover after domestic abuse. Nonetheless, research suggests babies are particularly vulnerable to experiences of domestic abuse, because of the impact of violence and abuse on the relationships that are most important to infant development. Domestic abuse can affect feelings about becoming a parent, the ability to love and protect a child, and having a positive healthy attachment (Women’s Aid, 2019).  
• Between June 2010 and October 2012, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 antenatal care clinics in Belgium, to consider the evolution of intimate partner violence before and during pregnancy. Of 1,894 women, the overall percentage of intimate partner violence (IPV) was 14.3% 12 months before pregnancy and 10.6% during pregnancy (Van Parys et al., 2014). Based on this analysis, whether pregnancy can be a protective factor is unclear, however if IPV is committed the consequences can be more damaging due to likelihood of multiple health concerns.  
• Domestic abuse is a major factor leading to death in, or related to, pregnancy and childbirth. It is a prime cause of miscarriage or stillbirth (Department of Health, 2005). 
• The risk that the baby will die during pregnancy or birth are between 2–2.5 times higher when domestic abuse occurs77, with common causes of death being blows to the abdomen, and soft tissue injury to the baby (Meuleners et al., 2006).  
• Based on findings from domestic homicide reviews, a victim’s pregnancy is in the top six risk indicators, amongst stalking/harassment, separation/child contact, sexual abuse, escalation of abuse, and victim isolation (Department of Health, 2005).  
• In the On Track data briefing for the financial year 2023-24, 6.1% of women were pregnant in Community-Based Services, and 6.2% of women were pregnant in refuge (Women’s Aid, 2025).  
• Exposure to domestic abuse in the first 1,001 days of life is associated with adverse outcomes for babies and mothers: poor mental and physical health; disrupted neurodevelopment; lower academic achievement; impaired social development and emotional regulation (Domoney at al., 2019).  

Disability 

• Understanding violence and abuse against disabled women needs to focus on factors causing gender inequality and ableist/disablist discrimination. Disabled women experience multiple forms of violence, endure it for longer durations, and face violence from multiple perpetrators simultaneously (Hague et al, 2008). Therefore, disabled survivors are particularly vulnerable and face increased susceptibility to all forms of abuse.  
• Disabled women experience are twice as likely to experience violence and abuse compared to non-disabled women. According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, in the year ending March 2025, an estimated 14.5% of Disabled women experienced domestic abuse, when compared with an estimated 7.7% of non-disabled women (ONS, 2025a). However, the 14.5% figure is unlikely to represent the actual number of cases of violence and abuse of disabled women, due to the crime survey being inaccessible to some disabled women.  
• Disabled women can experience additional barriers to accessing justice and support. Evidence suggests that disabled women/survivors of violence may refrain from coming forward and disclosing their experience of violence and abuse due to the fear of encountering discriminatory treatment and a lack of accommodation for their communication needs, particularly if they are blind, D/deaf, or have limited communication abilities (SafeLives, 2022).  
• In the On Track data briefing for the financial year 2023-24, overall, 32.8% of all survivors in the sample had at least one disability that they disclosed (Women’s Aid, 2025).  

• Crime survey data for the year ending March 2017 to the year ending March 2020 found that of women who were victims of rape or assault by penetration (including attempts) since the age of 16 years, 63% reported mental or emotional problems and 10% reported that they had tried to kill themselves as a result (ONS, 2021).  
• 55.8% of women survivors of domestic abuse responding to the Crime Survey of England and Wales 2018-19 reported sustained non-physical effects of the abuse (for example, mental or emotional problems as an effect of the abuse (ONS, 2019).  
• SafeLives report that 80% of women in a violent relationship seek help from health services, usually GPs, at least once and this may be their first or only contact with professionals; 1 in 4 women in contact with mental health services are likely to be experiencing domestic abuse when they are seen; 513,555 NHS staff are likely to have experienced abuse in the past 12 months; £1.73 billion is the calculated cost of domestic abuse to the NHS (with mental health costs estimated at an additional £176 million) (SafeLives, n.d.).  
• In 2021, SafeLives published their research ‘We only do bones here’, mapping the domestic abuse response within health settings in London, there were 64 survivor responses, in which 96% of participants were women. 98% said the abuse had affected their mental health while over three-quarters (76%) reported having suicidal thoughts due to the abuse; 86% said they suffered physical health issues because of the harm; over half (52 per cent) used negative coping mechanisms to deal with the situation; 39% experienced abuse when they were pregnant; 39 per cent felt they were unable to parent (SafeLives, 2021).  
• Analysis conducted for Refuge and the University of Warwick showed that almost a quarter (24%) of a sample of 3,500 of Refuge’s clients reported having felt suicidal, and 86% reported feeling depressed (Aitken and Munro, 2018).  
• In national On Track data for 2023-24, 43.2% of service users had support needs around their mental health; this was 42.3% in CBS services and for those in refuge services this was higher at 50.1%. The link between domestic abuse as a driver of mental ill health is well established, yet many survivors still face barriers when accessing adequate mental health support (Women’s Aid, 2025).  
• An examination of the results of the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey revealed that 75% of women in the ‘extensive physical and sexual violence’ group were not receiving either medication or counselling for a mental health problem at the time of the survey. This is despite ‘indications of very high levels of mental ill health’ in this group. 36% of women in the ‘extensive physical and sexual violence’ group had attempted suicide. In the same group, women were more than twice as likely to have an alcohol problem and eight times more likely to be drug dependent than women with little experience of violence and abuse (Scott and McManus with Sosenko, 2016). (The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey is a large survey of a representative sample of men and women of all ages, resident in private households).  

• A 2018 survey of over 5,000 LGBT people in Great Britain found that more than one in ten respondents (11%) reported experiencing domestic abuse from a partner in the last year. This increases to 17 per cent of black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT people. This includes 13% of bisexual women and 10% of lesbian women, 12% of bisexual men and 7% of gay men. One in five trans and non-binary people had experienced domestic abuse from a partner, and 16% of trans women had experienced domestic abuse from a partner in the last year (Bachmann and Gooch, 2018).  
• A report based on a casework dataset of 626 LGBT+ survivors (65% male, 32% female and 2% non-binary) who received support from Galop’s domestic abuse advocacy service between 2014 and 2017 states that in 79% of cases, the survivor had experienced abuse from an intimate partner. 71% of individual perpetrators were identified as male and 29% as female. 95% of gay men, 60% of trans women, and 75% of trans men disclosed abuse from a male perpetrator (Magic and Kelley, 2018).  
• LGBT+ communities face a range of barriers in accessing support because of their identity. The threat of revealing LGBT+ identity can be a powerful tool used by perpetrators (The Drive Partnership, 2023). 
• On Track national data from the year 2023-2024 relating to female service users showed that 3.4% of service users overall (1,364) identified as LGBQ+, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, asexual, or pansexual (Women’s Aid, 2025).  
• In 2023 Galop published the report ‘An Isolated Place’ which consisted of a nationally representative survey of 2,042 LGBT+ people across the UK about their experiences of being subjected to abuse, as well as their access to sources of support. It was found that round 6 in 10 (61%) LGBT+ survivors did not seek support from services following a particular instance of abuse by a family member or a partner/ex-partner; Of those LGBT+ survivors who did not seek professional support following an incidence of abuse by a family member or partner/ex-partner, 41% did not seek help because they were unaware any support was available (Carlisle and Withers Green, 2023).  
• A 2018 Women’s Aid member survey on service provision and trans people found that 27% of responding services had knowingly supported trans or non-binary survivors in their women’s refuge services. 42% had supported trans or non-binary survivors in their women’s community-based support services (Women’s Aid, 2018).  

• Surviving Economic Abuse estimate 1 in 7 women in the UK has experienced economic abuse by a current or former partner (Surviving Economic Abuse, n.d.) 
• On Track national data from the year 2023-2024 relating to female service users showed that 31.7% of survivors experienced financial abuse. This was higher in refuge at 52.1% (Women’s Aid, 2025) 
• On Track data found that more than a quarter (26.9%) of women in CBS services and almost half of women in refuge (49.0%) reported experiencing increased economic and financial abuse since the increased cost of living began. Over half (53.5%) of survivors in refuge and a third (32.5%) in CBS services were left unable to afford food and many were unable to keep up with debt repayments (11.6% in CBS services, 20.3% in refuge) (Women’s Aid, 2025).  
• Economic abuse can be a significant barrier to leaving an abuser. 52% of women respondents to a Women’s Aid/TUC study who were still living with their abuser said they could not afford to leave because they had no money of their own (Howard and Skipp, 2015).  
• By analysing 810 successfully prosecuted offences of controlling or coercive behaviour, the report ‘Seen yet sidelined’ by Surviving Economic Abuse found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of cases reported in the press reference economic abuse (Sharp-Jeffs, Royal and Gibson. 2023).  
• Refuge estimates that on average, a survivor of economic abuse who found themselves in debt will owe £3,272 – however one in four survivors have debts in excess of £5,000 (24%) – this represents £14.4 billion of UK debt directly due to economic abuse (Butt, 2020).  
• The majority of survivors who told us that the cost of living crisis has stopped them being able to end a relationship, or made it more difficult to do so, said this was due to the immediate costs of leaving (67%) or not being able to afford ongoing living costs on a single income (69%). Some explained that they were prevented from fleeing by the stark reality of not being able to support their children (50%), getting into debt (52%) or that benefits wouldn’t cover increased living costs (48%). Survivors talked about feeling isolated as a result of the cost of living crisis. For example, more than two thirds (67%) of survivors told us they were forced to spend more time at home because they were not able to afford activities outside the home or because they had to work more to make ends meet (Women’s Aid, 2022a).  

• Online abuse is widespread, with Refuge finding that 1 in 3 women in the UK having experienced online abuse (perpetrated on social media or other online platforms) at some point in their lives. Of these women, 1 in 6 had experienced this abuse from a partner or ex-partner, which equates to almost 2 million women in the UK. Many survivors said the abuse had an impact on their mental health; more than 1 in 3 women felt anxious and stressed (37% and 36%), and 1 in 5 felt ashamed and isolated (21% and 19%). Shockingly, although not surprisingly, 1 in 10 survivors (10%) felt suicidal as a result of the abuse. Over half (55%) of women who reported domestic abuse to the police said that they handled their report badly, and nearly a third of women (30%) responding to the survey said the police response was poor. Some survivors have even been advised by the police to come offline, as a “solution” to the abuse they are experiencing (Refuge, 2021).
• On Track data shows that 16.1% of women in refuge services had experienced surveillance/harassment online or through social media by their abuser during 2023-2024 (Women’s Aid, 2025).  
• Women’s Aid research found that over half of the survivors who responded to our survey (156 out of 283) had experienced online abuse during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and over a quarter of all respondents (28.6%) reported that their experiences of tech abuse started or escalated since March 2020 (Women’s Aid, 2022b).  
• The latest figures for police recorded sexual offences increased by 11% to 209,079 in the year-ending March 2025 (ONS, 2025b). Over half of this increase (around 13,000 offences) may be attributed to police recording two new sexual offences introduced in the Online Safety Act 2023: “Sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film”, commonly referred to as image-based sexual abuse or so-called ‘revenge porn’, and “Sending etc photograph or film of genitals”, commonly referred to as ‘cyberflashing’ (ONS, 2025b). This increase may therefore reflect new offences being captured that were not previously recognised by law, rather than an increase in crimes occurring.   
• In 2022, Refuge interviewed survivors of technology-facilitated abuse and found that 95% of survivors were not satisfied with the support they received from the social media company; over half (53%) of survivors interviewed did not receive a response from the platform to their report. Only 29% received a response; Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – all platforms owned by Meta – are the most commonly used platforms to perpetrate abuse, as reported by the survivors we interviewed (Refuge, 2022).  

• In ‘The Price of Safety: The cost of leaving an abuser and rebuilding a safe, independent life’ report, Women’s Aid found that It could cost a survivor almost £50,000 to leave an abuser, based on the direct costs of fleeing and rebuilding a new life. In the best-case scenario, a survivor would still face a £10,000 deficit after receiving her full entitlement of support from the state. For survivors who have no recourse to public funds, the deficit would be much larger: around £20,000. The biggest single cost is likely to be legal fees for the family court, where survivors have to fight to ensure their children are safe. Access to legal aid can decrease the cost of hiring a lawyer by 90%. The second biggest cost is housing. Only two thirds of these costs are met through benefits (Women’s Aid, 2024b).  
• Government investment in 2023-24 fell £321 million short of £516 million, which is the minimum level of funding required to fund local specialist women’s domestic abuse services, including ring-fenced funding needed to ensure the sustainability of vital ‘by and for’ organisations (Women’s Aid, 2024c).  
• In the year ending March 2017, the Home Office found that the social and economic cost for victims of domestic abuse in England and Wales was approximately £66 billion. The largest element of domestic abuse cost is the physical and emotional harm suffered by the victims themselves (£47 billion). However, the figure is likely to be an under-estimate (Home Office, 2019).  
• The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has estimated that the cost of gender-based violence across the EU is €366 billion a year. Violence against women makes up 79 % of this cost, amounting to €289 billion. Intimate partner violence makes up almost half (48 %, €174 billion) of the cost of gender-based violence. Intimate partner violence against women makes up 87 % of this sum (€151 billion). EIGE’s case study analysed three main types of costs: 
  • Lost economic output relating to a variety of costs associated with the work status and productivity of victims.  
  •  Costs of public services covering health services, personal costs, criminal and civil justice systems, self-funded legal costs, housing aid costs, housing aid and child protection as well as specialist services.  
  • Physical and emotional impact on the victims accounting for reduction in the quality of life of a victim as a consequence of violence (European Institute for Gender Equality, 2021).  

Coercive and controlling behaviour is at the heart of domestic abuse and has been a specific criminal offence since the end of 2015. Coercive control is defined in statutory guidance as “an intentional pattern of behaviour which takes place over time, in order for one individual to exert power, control or coercion over another” (Home Office, 2023, p. 13). These are abusive actions designed to limit a person’s freedom and autonomy and to dictate most aspects of a survivor’s everyday life (Kelly et al, 2014; Myhill and Hohl, 2016; Schechter, 1982; Stark, 2007; Women’s Aid, 2016).  

• There were 49,557 offences of coercive control recorded by the police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025. This is an increase from 45,310 in the year ending March 2024 (ONS, 2025c).  
• There were 1,299 defendant proceedings and 853 offenders convicted of controlling or coercive behaviour in the year ending December 2024 in England and Wales (ONS, 2025d).  
• Almost all those convicted for controlling or coercive behaviour in England and Wales in the year ending December 2024 were male – 832 out of 853. Although the ONS publication does not give the sex of the victims, we know from other research (as below) that the majority of victims are likely to be women (ONS, 2025d).   
• One study of crime survey data found that women are far more likely than men to be the victims of coercive controlling behaviour abuse that involves ongoing degradation and frightening threats – two key elements of coercive control. Working within the limitations of the current crime survey questions, the study found that among intimate personal violence victims who had experienced only one abusive relationship since the age of 16, almost a third (30%, n = 791) of the abuse reported by female respondents could be classified as coercive control in this way, contrasting with only 6% (n = 52) of the abuse reported by male respondents (Myhill, 2015).   
• In a survey of over 450 domestic abuse practitioners, 62% said they believe there needs to be improved understanding of the traits and techniques of coercive and controlling behaviour among frontline officers (HMIC, 2015).  
• In 2015, three quarters of forces (34 forces) included coercive control as part of their domestic abuse training (HMIC, 2015). In 2019, 14 forces had adopted the Domestic Abuse Matters training programme (HMIC, 2019).  
• Analysis of Merseyside Police domestic abuse data found that 95% of coercive control victims were women and 74% of perpetrators were men. 76% of coercive control cases happened within an intimate partner context. The study found that common abusive behaviours used in coercive control included “…use of technology (such as phone trackers, controlling social media usage, barrage of text messages or monitoring phone usage), sexual coercion, monitoring behaviours, isolation, threats, financial abuse, deprivation (depriving access to support) and physical violence (63% of coercive control cases featured reports of physical violence)” (Barlow et al, 2018).  

Find out more about coercive control https://womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/coercive-control/