Humberside Police: Violence against women and girls study challenges perpetrators
A study is challenging the assumption it is mostly perpetrated by victims' partners and exes
A study into violence against women and girls across the Humber challenges the assumption it is mostly perpetrated by victims’ partners and exes, its author said.
Dr Jessica Taylor, the lead for the VictimFocus study launched by Humberside’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), said more male friends and strangers were responsible than assumptions suggest.
Humberside PCC Jonathan Evison said the study highlighted the daily pattern of abuse women faced and called for the sexism which caused it to be rooted out from wider society.
It comes as the study also showed only one in 50 women and girls in the Humber had never experienced any form of violence or abuse throughout their lives.
The study, based on a survey of 1,627 women and girls across the Humber, also showed between 83 and 91 per cent of violence and coercion went unreported.
VictimFocus’ findings showed 61 per cent of perpetrators responsible for physical violence against girls under 18 were men compared to 39 per cent who were women.
Sexual violence against under 18s came from men in 96 per cent of cases, with 94 per cent of other violence such as catcalling also coming from males.
Women experienced coercive control from men in 74 per cent of cases, compared to 26 per cent coming from women.
Mums were the most likely to inflict physical violence on under 18 girls, being the perpetrators in 35 per cent of cases.
Dads were the second most likely at 33 per cent, followed by boyfriends, with brothers, male friends and male strangers all equally likely.
Male strangers were the perpetrators of sexual violence in almost half of all cases, 46 per cent, with male friends the next most likely accounting for 36 per cent.
Boyfriends accounted for more than a third of cases, 34 per cent, with dads and brothers accounting for 4 per cent each.
Stalking, insults and obsessive behaviour was carried out by male strangers in more than two thirds of cases grouped under ‘other violence’.
Male friends and boyfriends did it in around a third of cases each, with dads doing it in one in 50 cases and mums in one in 100.
Boyfriends were the most likely to coercively control girls, being the perpetrators in 58 per cent of cases.
Dads and mums did it in 21 and 22 per cent of cases respectively, with male friends 17 per cent, male strangers in nine and brothers in three.
Men were the perpetrators of physical violence in 85 per cent of cases involving women in adulthood, compared to 13 per cent of women.
In cases of sexual and other violence men were the perpetrators in 94 per cent of cases compared to two and three per cent respectively involving women.
Men coercively controlled women in 86 per cent of cases, compared to women doing it in 11 per cent.
Boyfriends and husbands were responsible for the majority of physical and sexual violence as well as coercive control, 71, 62 and 82 per cent of cases respectively.
Male strangers were the perpetrators in 17 per cent of physical and 45 per cent of sexual violence cases and were responsible for 62 per cent of other violence episodes.
In cases of sexual violence and other violence, male friends were responsible in one quarter of cases and 27 per cent of cases respectively.
Male friends coercively controlled women in 11 per cent of cases and inflicted physical violence in seven per cent of cases.
Bosses were responsible in six per cent of sexual violence cases, while female strangers were the perpetrators in the some proportion in physical violence cases.
Mums were the perpetrators in five per cent of physical violence cases and 6 per cent of coercive control.
Dads inflicted physical violence in four per cent of cases, sexual violence and other violence in one per cent of cases and coercively controlled in five per cent.
Dr Taylor said that while perpetrators were overwhelmingly male, the relationships to women and girls were considerably different to what researchers expected.
“Male friends and male strangers featured heavily as perpetrators of sexual violence and other forms of violence such as catcalling and digital sexual violence.
“This raises some important questions about our assumptions that the majority of sexual violence and abuse of women and girls is being committed by partners and ex-partners.”