Last year, the government broadened its definition of what it now calls ‘domestic violence and abuse’ to ‘any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family member’.
Who is at risk?
Most adult domestic violence, by far, is committed by men against women. Men may be abused by male or female partners, but are less likely to put up with it for long.
Women under 30 are at much higher risk than those over 40, according to the British Crime Survey.
But the risk increases again in older age.
A quarter of a million people over 66 living at home reported mistreatment from a family member or carer in one year, according to researchers.
Three in 10 abused women had their first experience of domestic violence when they were pregnant, and violence often increases during pregnancy.
Women’s risk of domestic violence is doubled if they are unemployed or disabled or have children at home.