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Domestic violence is still largely a hidden crime: those who have experienced abuse from a partner or ex-partner will often try to keep it from families, friends, or authorities.
- They may be ashamed of what has happened
- They may feel they were to some extent to blame
- They may love their partner and not want him to be criticised or punished for what he did
- They may think it was a one-off event and won’t happen again
- They may be frightened that if they tell anyone about it, their partner will find out and they will be in danger of further and perhaps more severe violence from him.
For all these reasons, and others, victims of abuse are likely to experience repeated attacks before they report the abuse to anyone – and statistics can only be based on known data. On average, 35 assaults happen before the police are called. (Jaffe 1982)*
See also an article on how the British Crime survey may underestimate statistics.
* This statistic is often quoted but please note that since its creation there has been over twenty years of progress in police policies, reporting process and domestic violence support systems in general. For more information on domestic violence statistics please visit our designated statistics page.
