An estimated 9.6% of people aged 16 and over in England and Wales were victims of domestic abuse in the year to March 2026, according to a new survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This represents around 4.7 million people, up from 7.8% (around 3.8 million) in the previous year.
Rise driven by partner abuse
The ONS described the increase as a "significant increase" indicating "real change" in the prevalence of domestic abuse. The jump was driven by a rise in partner abuse, which affected 7.9% of people aged 16 and over in the latest figures, compared with 6.1% in the year ending March 2025.
Figures for family abuse remained broadly similar, at 2.8% of adults in the year to March 2026, compared with 2.7% in the previous 12 months.
Survey changes noted
The ONS said some "minor changes" to the way the survey is carried out are likely to have influenced the size of the increase. However, their best assessment is that there has been a genuine rise in the level of domestic abuse.
Meghan Elkin, ONS head of crime statistics, said: "While minor survey changes and the usual uncertainty around gathering data on this sensitive topic are likely to have affected these estimates, our assessment is that the rise in domestic abuse includes real change."
She added: "More data points are needed to further understand the uncertainty and what this tells us about trends in domestic abuse."
