Domestic abuse victims remain reluctant to report

Gloucestershire police are saying that domestic abuse victims are still reluctant to report the crime even though more than 10,000 cases were reported in the county last year.

Police figures discussed this month suggest there were more than 5,000 reported cases of stalking and harassment during the 2024/25 financial year.

Deputy Chief Constable Katy Barrow-Grint told the police and crime panel last week that the constabulary’s domestic abuse demand has gone up significantly.

However, she still feels many victims of domestic abuse do not feel confident enough to report the perpetrators to the police.

“We are seeing across policing that victims of domestic abuse are feeling more confident to report to policing,” she told the meeting at Shire Hall on July 11.

“And that is one of the reasons why, but the evidence would suggest that there is still limited reporting.

“People still don’t feel confident to report in all cases, and many individuals will have experienced domestic abuse a number of times before they actually feel that they are able to report into policing.

“Over 10,000 domestic abuse tagged incidents, so things coming into the constabulary that are thought to be domestic abuse related, probably be over 8,000 domestic abuse crimes recorded.

“5,000 crimes are classified as stalking and harassment that we are dealing with in the constabulary year on year, these are kind of averages.

“We have certain capabilities around domestic violence protection orders, around Clare’s law, about how we prevent domestic abuse.

“Both the chief and I have quite significant experience in violence against women and girls activity from our previous forces, and I’ve been really keen to share our statistics around domestic abuse because we do need to talk about it more.

“It is still a hidden harm. It is still a hidden crime.”

If you’re a victim of domestic abuse, or know someone who is, and there’s an emergency that’s ongoing or life is in danger, police advise you to call 999 now.

If you have a hearing or speech impairment, use our textphone service 18000 or text the police on 999 if you’ve pre-registered with the emergency SMS service.

Other ways to report include doing so online by clicking here by calling 101 or in the safety of your local police station.

More information and advice can be found at Gloucestershire Constabulary’s website .