Domestic Abuse

This topic area covers statistics and information relating to domestic abuse in Hull including local strategic need and service provision. Further information relating to crime in general is given under Crime within Health and Wellbeing Influences. A needs assessment was completed in Hull during 2023 for people with multiple unmet needs which included people who had experience of domestic abuse. The report – which was finalised in 2024 – is available within Multiple Unmet Needs under Vulnerable Groups.

This page contains information from the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips. Information is taken ‘live’ from the site so uses the latest available data from Fingertips and displays it on this page. As a result, some comments on this page may relate to an earlier period of time until this page is next updated (see review dates at the end of this page).

Headlines

• Domestic abuse can shatter lives and prevent victims leading their lives free from fear and contributing fully to our society. Not only does it have a profound impact on victims themselves, but also extracts a huge cost from our health services, education, and the criminal justice system, as well as deeply affecting those around them, particularly children.
• Within Hull, there is a growing depth of understanding regarding the pervasive and far-reaching effects that domestic abuse has on victims, their families and communities.
• For England and Wales in the Crime Survey 2024/25, 6.5% of men and 9.1% of women had experienced domestic abuse in the last year with 21.8% of men and 29.6% of women having experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16 years. Younger men and women were the most likely to have been affected in the last year as were people who were single, separated or divorced or had a legal partnership dissolved. People who were students, not working due to long-term or temporary illness or were disabled were also the most likely to have experienced domestic abuse, as were single people who lived with children aged under 16 years, and people living in more deprived areas.
• For England and Wales for 2024/25, almost eight in ten of domestic abuse-related offences reported to police were violence against the person offences. Domestic abuse-related offences accounted for one-third of all reported violence against the person offences and more than one-fifth of all reported sexual offences.
• From a recent needs assessment of Multiple Unmet Needs, it is estimated that 20,000 adults in Hull aged 16+ years have been affected by domestic abuse. Local services have recently seen a 100% increase in demand.
• Within Hull’s Domestic Abuse Strategy 2025-28, there were 11,800 emergency 999 calls to police for domestic abuse with 6,500 recorded as a crime with 73% from females and 27% for males, and the highest number of calls were from St Andrew’s & Docklands ward. During 2024/25, children’s social care services came into contact with 3,195 cases of domestic abuse in Hull (which is 20% of all contacts), and Hull’s homelessness team encountered 661 cases where domestic abuse was disclosed. In Hull Prison, it is estimated that 58% of the population have a history of committing domestic abuse. Specialist domestic abuse services in Hull during 2024/25 supported 3,307 female and 323 male victims through Hull’s Domestic Abuse Partnership (DAP). Commissioned services supported 983 female victims of which 335 were children and young people. The Sanctuary Scheme supported 565 victims and children to remain in their own home. The Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) discussed 1,279 high risk victims with 952 residing in the household.
• At any one time, there are around 50 men accessing Hull’s Strength to Change perpetrator programme to support men to reduce and stop harming those they are in an intimate relationship with.
• During 2021 to 2024, 761 professional in Hull have attended domestic abuse training, and during 2021 to 2023, 15,670 children and young people have taken part in White Ribbon activities.
• During 2023/24, there were 16,107 domestic abuse-related crimes across the Humberside Police Area which represented 17.1% of all crimes, and gave a rate of 17.1 domestic abuse-related crimes per 1,000 population. Humberside Police Area was ranked fifth highest out of the 39 Police Force Areas within England. Given that Hull residents account for around 40% of all hospital admissions for violence, reported violent offences and reported sexual offences across the Humberside area, it is not unreasonable to assume that Hull residents might account for around 40% of all domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes reported to Humberside Police.
• During 2024/25, there were 15,166 domestic abuse-related incidents across the Humberside Police Area.
• Across the Humberside Police Area during 2024/25, there were 12,419 domestic abuse-related offenses which involved violence against the person. This represents around one-third of all violence against the person offences. There were 13.2 domestic abuse-related violence against the person offences across the Humberside Police Area per 1,000 population which is the sixth joint highest out of 39 Police Force Areas.
• There were 4,444 incidents of domestic abuse-related stalking and harassment offences and 590 coercive control offences across the Humberside Police Area during 2024/25. Again, it is likely that the rates in Hull are considerably higher than the average across the Humberside Police Area.
• Across the Humberside Police area over the three year period 2021/22 to 2023/24, there were 30 homicides in total with no victims aged under 16 years. Eight of these homicides were identified as domestic homicides and 21 non-domestic homicides, with the no suspect identified for one homicide. Overall, six of the 28 homicides were among women, each of which was identified as a domestic homicide. There were 24 homicides among men including one victim aged under 16 years. Two of the 24 homicides among men were identified as domestic homicides, 16 non-domestic homicides and no suspect was identified for the one homicide..
• Over the three year period 2022/23 to 2024/25, there were 475 hospital admissions for violence including sexual violence in Hull which was statistically significantly higher than England (56.8 versus 31.9 per 100,000 population).
• Hull remains a White Ribbon City and targeted work continues to be completed to raise awareness of healthy relationships in schools, colleges and youth settings. Domestic abuse training is also available to professionals to raise awareness of domestic abuse.

The Population Affected – Why Is It Important?

In April 2021, the Domestic Abuse Act created a new statutory definition of domestic abuse which is: “Any single incident or a course of conduct of physical or sexual abuse, violence or threatening behaviour, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse, psychological, emotional or other abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been personally connected to each other.”

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 recognises children and young people as victims of domestic abuse if they see, hear, or experience the effects of the abuse, and are related to either the victim or perpetrator. The Act does not create a new offence of domestic abuse and refers to the existing legislation and safeguards to protect children. Legislation to be considered could include common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, causing or allowing death or serious harm, or child cruelty, neglect and violence.

Safelives data highlights that 44% of children in families where domestic abuse is happening were directly abused, and that 18% were injured as a result of the abuse. Nine in ten (91%) of these children were also exposed to domestic abuse, and two in five (41%) children and young people in families where there is domestic abuse have been living with that abuse since they were born.

As stated in the Home Office’s progress report, domestic abuse and violence are devastating crimes that can shatter lives and prevent victims from leading their lives free from fear and contributing fully to our society. Not only does it have a profound impact on victims themselves, but also extends a huge cost from our health services, education, and the criminal justice system, as well as deeply affecting those around them, particularly children and young people.

Safelives report that one in five high risk victims reported attending A&E as a result of their injuries in the year before getting effective help, and that two-fifths of high-risk victims reported mental health issues. Golding reports that domestic abuse victims are at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and Howard reports that between 30-60% of psychiatric inpatients had experienced severe domestic abuse.

It is difficult to collect good data on domestic abuse as data collection methods and definitions could differ and have changed over time. The Office for National Statistics states that over recent years there has been little change in the prevalence of domestic abuse estimated by the crime survey, while the number of cases recorded by the police have increased. However, they state that the majority of cases do not come to the attention of the police, and many of those that do, do not result in a conviction for the perpetrator of the abuse. They state from the Crime Survey for England and Wales in the year ending March 2020, an estimated 2.3 million adults aged 16-74 years experienced domestic abuse in the last year (1.6 million women and 757,000 men).

At March 2020, national police data shows an increase of 24% in domestic abuse related crimes with 35% involving violence and 14% sexual offences, although some of this could be associated with greater awareness and better recording. Other factors also impact on the recording of domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes. From April 2023, a new methodology was employed which helped identify whether an offence was domestic abuse-related or not with an automatic flags tool rather than replying on adding a marker manually. As at November 2023, 36 police forces have used the tool and further forces will be moving to use this new methodology. An initial analysis of eight police forces resulted in a 3% increase in the number of offences that were identified as being domestic abuse-related. Furthermore, in May 2023, changes were made to Home Office Counting rules for conduct crimes (stalking, harassment and coercive and controlling behaviour). The requirement to record two crimes, reported at the same time by a victim involving the same perpetrator, when one of them was a conduct crime was removed. This has led to a reduction in offences often associated with conduct crimes, such as malicious communications, and an increase in offences such as stalking and harassment. Therefore, some caution should be undertaken when comparing the trends over time for some of the domestic abuse-related incident and crime rates.

Whilst a high proportions of domestic abuse related crimes are not reported to police, a review by the Department of Communities and Local Government found that around 85% of victims of domestic abuse seek help from professionals at least five times before getting the support they need.

The Duluth Power and Control Wheel illustrates the use of coercion and threats, intimidation, emotional abuse, isolation, minimising, denying and blaming, children, male privilege, and economic abuse in domestic abuse.

Incidents of domestic abuse that result in a crime are recorded by police and are included in recorded crime. Incidents of domestic abuse are cases that were reported to police, but following investigation, do not amount to a crime or an offence according to the National Crime Recording Standards. These can be added to domestic abuse-related crimes to create a total picture of the demand that domestic abuse puts on the police.

Domestic abuse crimes may fall into the broader category of violence and sexual offences in the Police Data UK dataset, but may fall into other categories and some domestic abuse crimes may fall into the broader ‘other crimes’ category. From the national dataset from Police Data UK, it is not possible to obtain the total number of domestic abuse crimes specifically.

The Hull Picture

The numbers of domestic abuse crimes and incidents is generally not recorded at a local authority level in the national datasets, and data tends to cover Police Areas. Humberside is the local Police Area which covers Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. Based on mid-year 2024 resident population estimates, the total population is 962,532 across this geographical areas with Hull accounting for 28.6% of the population.

Due to Hull’s increase deprivation levels and higher crime rates, it is estimated that a significant proportion of reported domestic abuse crimes and incidents will relate to Hull residents, and that it would account for a greater percentage than 28.6% based on population alone. For instance, Hull residents account for 41.7% of all hospital admissions for violence across the four local authorities for the period 2020/21 to 2022/23, 41.2% of all reported violence offences in 2022/23 and 38.8% of all reported sexual offences in 2022/23 (see Crime under Health and Wellbeing Influences). Therefore, it is probably not unreasonable to assume that Hull residents account for around 40% of domestic abuse-related crimes and incidents reported to Humberside Police.

Local information relating to domestic abuse is available for Hull from services providers such as the number of referrals to specific local services.

Not all domestic abuse-related crimes and incidents will be reported, so the numbers in the official statistics denotes only a proportion of the total number of such crimes and incidents. As well as reluctance and fear of reporting, there may be a perception that a crime or domestic abuse incident has not occurred in some cases.

Some information relating to age and gender is provided below for England & Wales as it is likely that the age and gender distribution of domestic abuse crimes and incidents is similar across most Police Force Areas, and this may provide useful information in relation to the Humberside Police Area.

Domestic Abuse in England and Wales

It is useful to examine information for England and Wales when information is not available at a local level as this can give an indication of the types of domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes and information on the perpetrators and people affected.

Crime Survey for England and Wales

From the Crime Survey for England and Wales for 2024/25, 6.5% of men and 9.1% of women had experienced domestic abuse in the last year, and 21.8% of men and 29.6% of women had experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16 years.

Type of abuse	Perpetrator	All in last year	Men in last year	Women in last year	All since aged 16 years	Men since aged 16 years	Women since aged 16 years
Emotional abuse	Partner	4.0	3.2	4.8	16.2	13.3	19.1
Financial abuse	Partner	2.1	1.7	2.5	9.5	7.1	11.8
Health abuse	Partner	0.6	0.7	0.6	3.9	2.7	5.1
Threats	Partner	2.1	1.5	2.7	12.1	8.1	16.1
Physical abuse	Partner	0.9	0.8	1.0	8.3	5.0	11.5
Sexual assault	Partner	1.5	0.8	2.2	7.2	2.6	11.5
Stalking	Partner	1.7	1.3	2.1	8.9	6.1	11.6
Emotional abuse	Family	1.5	1.3	1.7	4.3	3.7	4.9
Financial abuse	Family	0.8	0.5	1.0	2.9	2.3	3.4
Health abuse	Family	0.1	0.0	0.2	0.6	0.4	0.9
Marital-status related abuse	Family	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.6	0.5	0.7
Threats	Family	0.7	0.7	0.7	3.7	3.1	4.2
Physical abuse	Family	0.4	0.3	0.6	2.8	2.2	3.4
Sexual assault	Family	0.1	0.0	0.2	0.4	0.1	0.7
Stalking	Family	0.7	0.7	0.7	2.1	1.7	2.5
Any domestic abuse	Partner or family	7.8	6.5	9.1	25.8	21.8	29.6

From the Crime Survey for England and Wales for 2024/25, across England and Wales, younger men and women were more likely to have experienced domestic abuse in the last year as were people who were single, separated or divorced, people who were unemployed, students or long-term or temporarily sick or ill, and people who were disabled, as well as gay men and bisexual women.

Group	Characteristic	Men	Women	Persons
Age	16-19	20.3	15.7	18.2
Age	20-24	6.7	19.4	12.9
Age	25-34	7.6	9.8	8.7
Age	35-44	4.9	9.6	7.3
Age	45-54	6.8	7.9	7.3
Age	55-59	5.4	9.5	7.5
Age	60-74	4.3	6.3	5.3
Age	75+	2.4	4.3	3.4
Marital status	Married/civil partnership	3.7	5.1	4.4
Marital status	Cohabiting	7.4	10.2	8.8
Marital status	Single	10.4	14.1	12.2
Marital status	Separated	16.3	26.3	22.7
Marital status	Divorced/legally dissolved partnership	14.8	17.1	16.3
Marital status	Widowed	2.6	5.2	4.5
Employment status	In employment	6.4	5.2	8.1
Employment status	Unemployed	11.4	14.3	12.9
Employment status	Student	14.0	13.2	13.6
Employment status	Looking after home or family	*	6.9	6.5
Employment status	Long-term or temporarily sick or ill	12.6	16.2	14.6
Employment status	Retired	3.3	4.5	4.0
Disability	Disabled	11.7	14.5	13.4
Disability	Not disabled	5.7	7.7	6.7
Sexual orientation	Heterosexual	5.9	8.4	7.2
Sexual orientation	Gay or lesbian	15.5	13.0	14.5
Sexual orientation	Bisexual	13.1	23.4	19.9

In terms of the people experiencing domestic abuse based on their household characteristics, the prevalence of domestic abuse was higher among single people with children aged under 16 years and people living in areas of higher deprivation (and associated with this people living in households with lower incomes, social renters and living within smaller homes).

Group	Characteriestic	Men	Women	Persons
Household structure	Single person with children under 16	25.2	23.5	23.7
Household structure	Persons with children under 16	8.1	8.1	8.1
Household structure	Person(s) and no children	5.8	8.6	7.2
Household income	Less than £10,400	6.5	10.4	8.8
Household income	£10,400 to £20,799	10.5	12.6	11.7
Household income	£20,800 to £31,199	6.5	8.6	7.6
Household income	£31,200 to £41,599	6.9	9.8	8.3
Household income	£41,600 to £52,199	5.1	7.1	6.1
Household income	£52,200 or more	5.6	8.8	7.0
Tenure	Owners	5.1	6.9	6.0
Tenure	Social renters	10.5	14.8	13.0
Tenure	Private renters	8.8	11.9	10.3
Accommodation	Detached	6.1	7.6	6.8
Accommodation	Semi-detached	6.4	8.5	7.5
Accommodation	Terraced	6.7	9.6	8.2
Accommodation	Flats/maisonettes	7.3	12.2	9.7
Area type	Urban	7.4	9.0	8.2
Area type	Rural	6.9	7.7	7.3
Deprivation	Most deprived fifth	6.5	14.3	10.2
Deprivation	Intermediate three-fifths	7.4	9.7	7.7
Deprivation	Least deprived fifth	4.0	10.5	9.5

Offences Reported to the Police

During 2024/25, there were 816,493 offences recorded by the police which were identified as domestic abuse-related across England and Wales, and more than three-quarters of these were violence against the person offences.

One-third of all violence against the person offences were domestic abuse-related, and more than one-fifth of all sexual offences were domestic abuse-related.

Offence	Number of domestic abuse-related offences	Percentage of domestic abuse-related offences	Percentage of total offences that were domestic abuse-related
Violence against the person	635,394	77.8	32.8
Sexual offences	44,785	5.5	21.4
Miscellaneous crimes	14,715	1.8	11.9
Criminal damage and arson	46,786	5.7	10.1
Public order offences	29,552	3.6	6.5
Other offence types	45,261	5.5	2.4
All offences	816,493	100.0	15.4

Across Humberside Police Area and Compared to Other Areas

Domestic Abuse Crimes and Incidents

The number of domestic abuse-related crimes has increased across the Humberside Police Area over time, although it is likely that the data recording has improved over time with more domestic abuse-related crimes recorded as such in the last few years.

Across the Humberside Police Area, there had been just over 16,000 domestic abuse-related crimes recorded during each financial year between 2018/19 and 2024/25, albeit falling slightly to around 15,500 in 2022/23 and rising to around 17,400 in 2023/24. There were just over 16,100 domestic abuse-related crimes recorded in Humberside for 2024/25.

Domestic abuse-related crimes make up a high proportion of total crimes. One in ten of all crimes were domestic abuse-related in 2015/16 but this has increased to around one in six in 2024/25. This could also be due to better reporting of domestic abuse-related crimes. In 2015/16, the percentage was lower in Humberside than both England and across the Yorkshire and Humber region, but for the majority of the subsequent years, the percentage across Humberside was generally higher than the England but lower than the region. For the latest year 2024/25, the percentage in Hull is slightly lower than the region but higher than England.

Out of the 39 Police Force areas across England with data available, Humberside was ranked as the fifth highest for the rate of all domestic abuse-related crimes per 1,000 population for 2024/25 with 17.1 crimes per 1,000 population compared to Cleveland which had the highest (22.0) and Surrey which had the lowest (6.7).

Across England and Wales for 2024/25, there were 816,493 offences recorded by police which were identified as domestic abuse-related, representing 15.4% of recorded offences. One-third (32.8%) were violence against the person, one fifth (21.4%) were sexual offences, 6.5% were public order offences, 10.1% were criminal damage and arson crimes, 11.9% were recorded as miscellaneous crimes and 24% were other types of offences.

The total number of domestic abuse-related incidents decreased during the pandemic, and fell sharply in 2022/23 across Humberside Police Area although it has increased in both 2023/24 and 2024/25, to reach almost 15,200 incidents.

The rate of domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes in 2024/25 was 39.9 per 1,000 population across the Humberside area which is 49% higher than England (26.8 per 1,000 population). Humberside Police covers Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, and all four local authorities have the same rate of domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes figures given on Fingertips, although in practice it is likely that the rate will differ and is probably considerably higher in Hull. The local needs assessment of Multiple Unmet Need found that violent crime rates were 69% higher than England, and that Hull residents accounted for 50% of all first time offenders and 40% of all proven re-offenders and re-offences across the Humberside Police Area, so it is probably not unreasonable to assume that 45% of all domestic abuse related incidents and crimes within the Humberside Police Area relate to Hull residents.

Rates of domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes increased between 2015/16 and 2018/19 for Hull, although some of the increase could be associated with better reporting. Between 2018/19 and 2022/23, the rate decreased, with the decrease especially pronounced between in 2022/23, but there have been increases in the past two years. The rate in Hull is the highest it has been.

Anecdotally it has been suggested that the rate of domestic abuse has increased in Hull, particularly during the pandemic. Local services have recently seen a 100% increase in demand as reported in the needs assessment of Multiple Unmet Need. Furthermore, not all domestic abuse will be reported or recorded as such if it were reported. This is not particularly evident in the levels of recorded domestic abuse presented here, although as stated earlier the figures on Fingertips relate to the whole of the Humberside Police Area and only represent a proportion of domestic abuse as there will be many cases that are not reported to the police.

Violence Against the Person Crimes

Across England and Wales for 2024/25, 49.3% of violence against the person offences committed against women were domestic abuse-related, compared with 24.4% for such offences committed against men. For women, the percentages increased from 45% among women aged 16-19 years to 53% among women aged 30-39 years before decreasing to 42% among women aged 55-64 years, 44-47% for women aged 65-74 years and 43% among women aged 75+ years. For men, the percentages were around 25% for most ages, but rose to 28% for those aged 70-74 years and 34% for men aged 75+ years.

The total number of violence against the person domestic abuse-related offences has increased significantly over time across the Humberside Police Area, but the increase between 2015/16 and 2018/19 could have been due to better recording of domestic abuse-related crimes. Over the last five years, there have been around 12,500 violence against the person offences that were domestic abuse-related each year across the Humberside Police Area, albeit with a slightly fewer, 11,800, in 2022/23 and slightly more, 13,400, in 2023/24. In the latest year, 2024/25, there were just over 12,400 domestic abuse-related crimes that were violence against the person offences.

The percentage of violent offences that were domestic abuse-related had increased over time between 2015/16 and 2020/21, but decreased in both 2021/22 and 2022/23. There was been an increase in 2023/24, before dropping slightly in 2024/25, with the percentage lower than the peak in 2020/21.

For the latest year 2024/25, just under one-third of all crimes were domestic abuse-related violence against the person offences in the Humberside Police Force area which was lower than both the region and England and Wales.

Out of the 39 Police Force Areas across England with data available, Humberside was ranked as the sixth highest for the rate of violence against the person domestic abuse-related crimes per 1,000 population for 2024/25 with 13.2 such crimes per 1,000 population. West Yorkshire had the highest rate at 17.0 such crimes per 1,000 population and Surrey the lowest rate at 5.3 crimes per 1,000 population.

Across England and Wales for 2024/25, of the domestic-abuse related violence against the person offences recorded by police, 37% were stalking and harassment (8% controlling and coercive behaviour, 8% harassment, 3% malicious communications and 18% stalking), 26% were violence with injury and 37% were violence without injury (33% assault without injury and 3% threats to kill).

Sexual Offences

For 2024/25, across England and Wales, the percentage of sexual offences recorded by the police that were identified as domestic abuse-related increased from 27% among women aged 16-19 years to a peak of 44% among women aged 35-39 years before gradually decreasing to 16% among women aged 70-74 years with the lowest percentage of 11% among women aged 75+ years. Among males, a similar pattern with age occurred although the percentages were around half those for females. Among men aged 16-19 years 14% of sexual offences recorded by the police were identified as domestic abuse-related which increased to 25% among men aged 35-39 years before decreasing to 9% among men aged 70-74 years and 6% for men aged 75+ years. Over all age groups, 36% of sexual offences against women recorded by the police were identified as domestic abuse-related compared to 20% of sexual offences against men.

Stalking and Harassment Offences

Across England and Wales for 2024/25, there were 188,462 domestic abuse-related stalking and harassment offences recorded by police.

Across the Humberside Police Force Area, there were 4,444 domestic abuse-related stalking and harassment offences during 2024/25 (ranked 16th highest out of 40 Police Force areas in England). The total number will depend on the total population and the size of the geographical area of the Police Force Area.

The percentage of stalking and harassment offences that were domestic abuse-related in 2024/25 varied considerably across the 40 Police Force Areas from 44.7% in Nottinghamshire to 17.0% for the City of London and 8.9% for British Transport Police, and this may be a reflection of the way in which different Police Force Areas record the information (whilst there is a new system in place it is not fully in use by all Police Force Areas).

Coercive Control Offences

There were 49,557 coercive control offences recorded by police across England and Wales during 2024/25 including 590 in the Humberside Police Force Area. The total numbers varied dramatically from 6 to 4,502 across the 39 police areas. However, the number will depend on the size of the geographical area in terms of the population served by the Police Force Area. There may also be differences due to the way information is recorded (whilst there is a new system in place it is not fully in use by all Police Force Areas).

Homicides

Across England and Wales there were 1,831 victim of homicide over the three year period 2021/22 to 2023/24 of which 352 were domestic homicides with victims aged 16+ years, 924 were non-domestic homicides with victims aged 16+ years, 147 were victims aged under 16 years with 407 victims aged 16+ years where no suspect was identified. There were more than twice as many male victims as women (1,313 versus 518), but a higher percentage were domestic homicides of women aged 16+ years (47%) compared to domestic homicides of men aged 16+ years men (8%). A similar percentage had no suspect identified (23% of female victims and 22% of male victims), but a much higher percentage of homicides were non-domestic among male victims (62%) compared to female victims (20%). Whilst the numbers of homicide victims aged under 16 years was almost twice as high among men (97) compared to women (50), male homicide victims under 16 years accounted for a smaller percentage of all male homicide victims (7%) compared to female homicide victims under 16 years (10%).

Across the Humberside Police area over the three year period 2021/22 to 2023/24, there were 30 homicides in total with no victims aged under 16 years. Eight of these homicides were identified as domestic homicides and 21 non-domestic homicides, with the no suspect identified for one homicide. Overall, six of the 28 homicides were among women, each of which was identified as a domestic homicide. There were 24 homicides among men including one victim aged under 16 years. Two of the 24 homicides among men were identified as domestic homicides, 16 non-domestic homicides and no suspect was identified for the one homicide.

Across England and Wales, the average age of female homicide victims was 49 years for domestic homicides and 50 years for non-domestic homicides, while among male homicide victims, the average age was 51 years for domestic homicides and 38 years for non-domestic homicides. Among the domestic homicides across England and Wales during the three year period 2021/22 to 2023/24, the highest percentage of victims was among those aged 70+ years (16% for women and 21% for men). Among females, 7% were aged under 25 years, 18% aged 25-34 years, 22% aged 35-44 years, 21% aged 45-54 years, 14% aged 55-64 years and 19% aged 65+ years. Among males, 9% were aged under 25 years, 12% aged 25-34 years, 13% aged 35-44 years, 24% aged 45-54 years, 16% aged 55-64 years and 25% aged 65+ years. In six in ten domestic homicides where the victim was aged 16+ years, the suspect was the partner or ex-partner (73% for female victims and 36% for male victims), 23% a parent (20% for female victims and 32% for male victims), 1.4% a child (1.6% for female victims and 0.9% for male victims) and 14% other family member (6.1% for female victims and 31.8% for male victims). For the 352 domestic homicides, a female suspect was identified in 49 cases (with the victim a female in ten cases and a male in 39 cases), while a male suspect was identified in 303 cases (with the victim a female in 235 cases and a male in 68 cases).

Within Hull

Domestic Abuse Strategy 2025-2028

Within Hull’s Domestic Abuse Strategy 2025-28, it was reported that there were 11,800 emergency 999 calls to police for domestic abuse with 6,500 recorded as a crime with 73% females victims and 27% for male victims, and the highest number of calls were from St Andrew’s & Docklands ward.

During 2024/25, children’s social care services came into contact with 3,195 cases of domestic abuse in Hull (which is 20% of all contacts), and Hull’s homelessness team encountered 661 cases where domestic abuse was disclosed.

In Hull Prison, it was estimated that 58% of the population have a history of committing domestic abuse.

Specialist domestic abuse services in Hull during 2024/25 supported 3,307 female and 323 male victims through Hull’s Domestic Abuse Partnership (DAP). Commissioned services supported 983 female victims of which 335 were children and young people. The Sanctuary Scheme supported 565 victims and children to remain in their own home. The Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) discussed 1,279 high risk victims with 952 residing in the household. Hull’s Strength to Change perpetrator programme is supporting 50 men at any one time, who access support to reduce and stop harming those they are in an intimate relationship with.

There is continuing work locally to deliver training to raise awareness of domestic abuse and prevent domestic abuse for future generations. Between January 2021 and December 2024, 761 professionals have attended domestic abuse training, and between January 2021 and December 2023, 15,670 children and young people have taken part in White Ribbon activities.

Hospital Admissions for Violence

Not all hospital admissions due to violence will be related to domestic abuse, but it gives an indication of the overall levels of such admissions and crime relative to other areas.

Over the three year period 2022/23-2024/25, the rate of hospital admissions for violence including sexual violence was 78% higher in Hull at 56.8 per 100,000 population than England (31.9 per 100,000 population). A subset of these hospital admissions are likely related to domestic abuse.

Violent crime rates involving hospital admission, violent crime rates relating to sexual offences and violent crime rates were all considerably higher in Hull compared to England (further information on these crimes is given under Crime within Health and Wellbeing Influences).

The rate of hospital admissions for violence including sexual violence has decreased in Hull over time, but there were 475 recorded admissions over the three year period 2022/23-2024/25 equating to an average of 158 per year.

Strategic Need and Service Provision

In April 2020 the Domestic Act was given royal assent and introduced for the first time a national definition of domestic abuse and recognises children and young people as victims of domestic abuse if they see, hear, or experience the effects of the abuse, and are related to either the victim or perpetrator.

A key element of the Act is the creation of a statutory duty on local authorities to comprehensively assess the level of need for domestic abuse safe accommodation within their local area and to publish a Domestic Abuse Strategy outlining the steps to be taken to ensure these needs are met. In order to meet these requirements Hull City Council, with support from partner agencies, local residents and survivors, have completed an Equality Impact Analysis. The purpose of this was to establish to what extent the current service provision in relation to domestic abuse safe accommodation and allied support meets the needs of diverse victims and their children in Hull and to identify whether there are gaps in the current offer and any barriers to accessing appropriate support. Additionally, the refreshed strategy takes information and evidence from the following:

• Co-production through the voices of victims with lived experience and who are experts in domestic abuse;
• Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2021;
• Community Safety Partnership Strategy;
• Strategic Domestic Abuse Board;
• Hull Collaborative Partnership;
• Lessons learnt from Domestic Homicide Reviews and Child Serious Case reviews; and
• Scrutiny Report commissioned by the Hull Safeguarding Children Partnership (HSCP) which was completed in September 2021. This report focussed specifically on the impact of domestic abuse on children and young people and the effectiveness of service provision for them.

This Strategy and aligned Delivery Plan outline how the ‘new burdens’ grant awarded to the Local Authority will be deployed to meet those identified needs and where future funding will be directed. The key priorities and their commitments are for all irrespective of gender, sex, age, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion.  Recognising intersectionality of these characteristics, as evidenced and reflected in the Equalities Impact Analysis and detailed in the Delivery Plan.

In 2024, a review of the domestic abuse system in Hull was completed. A suite of recommendations were developed that focused on addressing operational challenges in the short term. The recommendations can be grouped into three areas that set the context for Hull’s 2025-28 Domestic Abuse Strategy:

1. Relieve System-Wide Pressures
2. Developing our Partnership Structure
3. Moving to a Driven Approach

The Domestic Abuse Strategy Board have agreed the following set of values which underpins the Coordinated Community Response to service delivery in Hull: courage; compassion; commitment; inclusion, partnership; innovation; and responsibility.

Hull has committed to embedding the Coordinated Community Response to domestic abuse to strengthen the whole system working. It is a nationally recognised approach that ensures all services work together to support victims, hold perpetrators accountable, and prevent future abuse, creating a safer and more effective system. The principles are:

• A joined-up approach;
• Holding abusers accountable;
• Preventing future harm;
• Clear communication across services; and
• A safer community for everyone.

The strategic priorities as a result are prioritising prevention, supporting victims, holding perpetrators accountable, and improving systems.

Each person’s experience of domestic abuse is unique to them. Not all victims want or are able to leave their abuser at a particular time, and abuse can begin, continue or escalate post-separation. Many victims may not seek to pursue a criminal justice outcome, and so appropriate support must always be offered. The experiences of children and young people who are living with domestic abuse must always be considered and their needs taken into account in any decisions made about the adult victim. Domestic abuse can encompass a wide range of behaviours and does not always include physical violence and can include emotional, psychological, controlling, or coercive, sexual and/or economic abuse. Many victims will experience these abusive behaviours simultaneously. At the centre of all these abusive behaviours is the perpetrator’s desire to exercise power and control over the victim. In recognition of this a new offence of Coercive and controlling behaviour was introduced in December 2015 in the Serious Crime Act 2015.

There are a number of services available in Hull to support domestic abuse victims and work with perpetrators such as the Hull Domestic Abuse Partnership, Hull Women’s Aid and Preston Road Women’s Centre, and Strength to Change, who work closely with other agencies in the city. Domestic abuse is a complex issue which requires a co-ordinated community response in order to ensure the needs of all those impacted by domestic abuse are met.

People’s circumstances can often be improved by early help, and any early help and intervention for all families should be timely, accessible and appropriate for their circumstances. The sooner domestic abuse is identified, and victims and their children offered support and intervention the better. As this will reduce the risk of escalation and serious harm taking place for victims, children and young people.

Resources

Home Office, Guidance: Domestic violence and abuse. 2016, Home Office: London.

Evidence and policy review: domestic violence and poverty. University of Bristol (supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation), 2015.

Unicef. Behind Closed Doors: The impact of domestic abuse on children.

Ending violence against women and girls: Action plan 2016-2020 – progress update. HM Government, March 2019.

How widespread is domestic abuse and what is the impact? Safe Lives: London, 2015.

Getting it right first time. Safe Lives: Bristol, 2015.

In Plain Sight: Effective help for children exposed to domestic abuse: second national policy report. Safe Lives (formerly Caada): Bristol, 2014.

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and Division of Violence Prevention, Intimate Partner Violence: Consequences.  www.cdc.gov. 2017, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention: Atlanta, USA.

Heise, L. and C. Garcia-Moreno, Violence by intimate partners., in World report on violence and health, E. Krug, et al., Editors. 2002, World Health Organisation: Geneva, Switzerland. p. 87-121.

Coker, A.L., et al., Physical and mental health effects of intimate partner violence for men and women. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 2002. 23(4): p. 260-268.

Roberts, T.A., J.D. Klein, and S. Fisher, Longitudinal effects of intimate partner abuse on high-risk behavior among adolescents. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 2003. 157(9): p. 875-981.

Warshaw, C., B. Brashler, and J. Gil, Mental health consequences of intimate partner violence., in Intimate partner violence: a health-based perspective., C. Mitchell and D. Anglin, Editors. 2009, Oxford University Press: New York. p. 147-171.

Black, M.C., Intimate partner violence and adverse health consequences: implications for clinicians. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 2011. 5(5): p. 428-439.

Golding, J., Intimate partner violence as a risk factor for mental disorders: a meta-analysis. Journal of Family Violence, 1999. 14(2): p. 99-132.

Howard, L.M., et al., Domestic violence and severe psychiatric disorders: prevalence and interventions., in Psychological Medicine. 2010, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. p. 881-893.

Office for National Statistics, Domestic abuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2018. Office for National Statistics: London, 2018.

The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/

Hull’s Domestic Abuse Strategy 2025-2028. Safer Hull, 2025.

Strength to Change – Confidential Advice for Men in Hull: www.hullstrengthtochange.org

Hull Domestic Abuse Partnership: https://www.hull.gov.uk/hullDAP/

Hull Women’s Aid: www.hullwomensaid.org

Hull’s Early Help and Prevention Strategy 2021-25. https://www.hull.gov.uk/downloads/file/1726/Hull_Early_Help_and_Prevention_Strategy_2021_25.pdf

Updates

This page was last updated / checked on 30 June 2026.

This page is due to be updated / checked in June 2027.