Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to (a) capture data on and (b) provide support for older victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Domestic abuse has no place in our society and this Government is committed to improving our support to those who suffer at the hands of abusers. Our landmark Domestic Abuse Act will strengthen our protection of victims and ensure perpetrators feel the full force of the law. The Government recognises that older people can also be victims of domestic abuse and the new statutory definition of domestic abuse encompasses such victims.
Data on domestic abuse-related offences recorded by the police by age of victim can be found in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publication ‘Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2021 in Tables 4 and 10 here: Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
The age range for respondents eligible for the domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking self-completion module of the Crime Survey England and Wales (CSEW) was expanded in April 2017, changing from adults aged 16 to 59 years to adults aged 16 to 74 years. For future data collections as part of CSEW, the ONS will be removing the upper age limit when estimating the number of adults affected by domestic abuse. This will allow us to better monitor the prevalence of domestic abuse amongst older people and further integrate older people’s experiences into conversations and policy decisions around domestic abuse.
Last week, we published the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan which will seek to transform the whole of society’s response in order to prevent offending, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to strengthen the systems processes in place needed to deliver these goals. The Plan is informed by the unprecedented 180,000 responses we received to our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Call for Evidence, and relevant data,
literature, and input from experts.
The Plan, investing over £230 million into tackling these crimes, sets out a holistic package of support to ensure that every victim or survivor can get the support they need. We will also monitor their needs and reflect changes in our policy. This individualised approach will help to take the onus off victims and survivors by ensuring support is tailored to them, no matter how complex their needs.
The Plan sets out several key indicators we will use to determine its effectiveness, and we will monitor changes in the prevalence of domestic abuse through the Crime Survey for England and Wales. This year (2021-22) the Home Office is providing the organisation Hourglass with just over £200,000 to support elderly victims of domestic abuse. This funding will also provide casework support, train specialist independent domestic violence advocates and enhance their helpline. This means that Hourglass now operates the UK’s only 24/7 helpline to support older victims of domestic abuse.
The Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care are jointly leading the Safe Care at Home Review. The Terms of Reference for the review were published on 24th February 2022. The review is looking at the protections and the support available to adults at risk of or experiencing abuse in their own homes from people providing their care, including older victims who are more likely to have care and support needs. As part of the review, we are coordinating inputs from disabled people, carers organisation and other interested parties. The Review is expected to complete before the end of 2022.