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Improving services for women and child victims of violence: the Department of Health Action Plan

Summary: Violence against women and children (VAWC) can take many forms including domestic violence, sexual violence, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation (FGM), this report sets out the Department of Health action plan.

The scale of violence against women and children is enormous. We know that the statistics that are collected underestimate the true extent of the problem as violence and abuse remain a hidden issue and are significantly underreported.


• More than one in four women in England and Wales (4.4 million) had been affected by domestic violence since the age of 16


• In 2009/10, there were 20,000 sexual assaults and 14,000 rapes of women recorded by police in England and Wales and around one fifth (20.9%) of all rapes recorded by the police were committed against children under 16


• A UK study of 18 to 24 year olds found that in 1998, 16% of respondents (which equates to an estimated 1.9 million in UK) were sexually abused as children


• An estimated 66,000 women in England and Wales have been affected by female genital mutilation (FGM) at some point in their lives. An estimated 16,000 girls under 15 years old are also at risk of the most severe type of FGM.


The cost of violence and abuse in terms of people’s lives, the cost to public services and lost productivity is vast. The Home Office estimates that the cost of violence against women and girls to society is around £36.7 billion. The true cost is likely to be much higher, given the under-reporting of violence, in particular around historic child abuse.

To view the full report, please click here

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