skip to main content skip to search skip to footer skip to accessibility statement

noun_Home_323091 450crop at 125x125 pinkDomestic abuse

Domestic abuse can cause serious long-term physical and emotional harm to victims as well as those who witness it, for example, children in the household. Witnessing or experiencing domestic abuse as a child is a key Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). This is important as children’s early experiences have a significant impact on their development, particularly as there is evidence to suggest that children who experience ACEs are more likely to become involved in crime, either as a victim or perpetrator. The impact of domestic abuse on children in the city is highlighted by 60% of High Risk Domestic Abuse (HRDA) referrals having children or young people in the household (2021/22).

Number of domestic violence crimes, as a percentage of all violent crimes: Southampton trend 2010/11 to 20210/22. Click or tap to open a larger image. As part of the Domestic Abuse Act, a statutory definition for domestic abuse was created, which emphasises that domestic abuse is more than just physical abuse and includes the following:

  • Physical or sexual abuse;
  • Violent or threatening behaviour;
  • Controlling or coercive behaviour;
  • Economic abuse;
  • Psychological, emotional or other abuse

It is difficult to understand the overall picture of domestic abuse, as it is frequently a hidden crime with very high levels of under-reporting. Therefore, it is difficult to say whether observed changes reflect a ‘true’ increase, especially because police recorded figures of domestic abuse are likely to have been impacted by changes to recording practices, policing activity and public reporting of crime.

Domestic flagged crime (crude rate per 1,000 population) by National deprivation quintiles, Southampton 2021/22. Click or tap to open a larger image.Domestic flagged crime currently accounts for 16.9% of all recorded crime in Southampton, a significant increase compared to the pre-pandemic baseline (14.5% in 2019/20), but similar to 2020/21 (17.1%). Domestic flagged crime includes domestic violent crime, which has experienced a +23.8% increase since 2019/20 in Southampton. The number of domestic violent crimes in Southampton have increased for a ninth consecutive year. Domestic violence continues to be a key driver of violent crime in Southampton, with almost a third (32.6%) of violent crimes flagged as domestic in the most recent year.

Although anyone can experience domestic abuse, there is a very strong link between deprivation and domestic flagged crime in Southampton. The rate of domestic flagged crime is 4.4 times higher in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the city compared to rates for the least deprived areas.

A summary report and slide set produced as part of the 2021/22 Strategic Assessment are available to download below. The interactive community safety dashboard can be accessed using the link below. For more information on crime in Southampton, see the Safe City Strategic Assessment page.

Community Safety Dashboard
Visualisation

Resources

2021/22 Safe City Strategic Assessment

The Southampton Safe City Strategic Assessment provides an overview of current and future crime, disorder and community safety issues affecting Southampton and makes recommendations to enable the Partnership to focus the Safe City Strategy and local delivery plans. The slide set and report that informed the assessment are available below to download. The interactive community safety dashboard can be accessed using the link below.

Safe City Strategic Assessment Report (2021/22)
Report
pdf | 5MB | 20.12.22
Safe City Strategic Assessment Presentation (2021/22)
Slide set
pdf | 8MB | 20.12.22
Community Safety Dashboard
Visualisation

2020/21 Safe City Strategic Assessment

Safe City Strategic Assessment Report (2020/21)
Report
pdf | 4MB | 30.11.21

2022 Violence Against Women and Girls Problem Profile

A Violence Against Women and Girls Problem Profile (VAWG) was undertaken to explore the extent of VAWG in Southampton and to understand key patterns.

2022 Violence Against Women and Girls Problem Profile
Report
pdf | 3MB | 31.03.22

Analysis of need across Southampton neighbourhoods

This work highlights need and inequalities among Southampton neighbourhoods across a number of key theme areas, including demography, children’s social care, youth crime and violence, healthy start, child health and need, adult health and need, education and poverty and deprivation.

Analysis of need across Southampton neighbourhoods
Slide set
pdf | 27MB | 31.05.21

Archived assessments

This section contains archived reports from previous Safe City Strategic Assessments. For the latest report and data on crime and community safety in the city, see the Safe City Strategic Assessment above.

Safe City Strategic Assessment (2019/20)
Report
pdf | 6MB | 24.11.20
Safe City Strategic Assessment (2018/19)
Report
pdf | 19MB | 18.12.19
Safe City Strategic Assessment (2017/18)
Report
pdf | 1MB | 19.12.18
Safe City Strategic Assessment (2016/17)
Report
pdf | 15MB | 04.02.18
Safe City Strategic Assessment (2015/16)
Report
pdf | 8MB | 06.12.16
Safe City Strategic Assessment (2014/15)
Report
pdf | 7MB | 30.11.15

Last updated: 20 December 2022