Domestic abuse: statistics recorded by the police in Scotland - 2013/14 and 2014/15

Annex 5: Comparisons with England & Wales and Northern Ireland

England & Wales

6.36. In England and Wales, domestic violence (abuse) data is not comparable with Scotland's statistics on domestic abuse due to differences in definition. The definition of domestic violence in England and Wales is:

'Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to:

• psychological
• physical
• sexual
• financial
• emotional'

More details of the definition can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-violence-and-abuse

The definition used by Police Scotland does not include family members, with the data collected only including domestic abuse between partners (married, cohabiting, civil partnership or otherwise) or ex-partners. The definition used by Police Scotland also has no age restrictions upon it.

6.37. Differences in legislation and common law also have to be taken into account when comparing the crime statistics for England & Wales and Scotland.

6.38. Domestic violence statistics are published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Home Office and included in Crime Statistics bulletins. The latest Crime Statistics for England & Wales can be accessed from the following link:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/index.html.

Northern Ireland

6.39. Similar to the issues above with England & Wales, statistics on domestic violence (abuse) in Northern Ireland is not directly comparable. The definition of domestic violence in Northern Ireland is:

'The Northern Ireland Regional Steering Group on Domestic Violence has defined domestic abuse as 'any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, verbal, sexual, financial or emotional) inflicted on one person by another where they are or have been intimate partners or family members, irrespective of gender or sexual orientation', where:

- Incident means an incident anywhere and not confined to the home of one of the partners/family members;

- Intimate partners means there must have been a relationship with a degree of continuity and stability. The relationship must also have had (or reasonably supposed to have had) a sexual aspect, such as in the relationship between husband and wife or between others generally recognised as a couple including same sex couples; and

- Family members include mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandparents, whether directly or indirectly related, in-laws or stepfamily'

Similar to the above, the definition used by Police Scotland does not include family members, with the data collected only including domestic abuse between partners (married, cohabiting, civil partnership or otherwise) or ex-partners.

6.40. Statistics from the Police Service of Northern Ireland can be accessed here:

http://www.psni.police.uk/index/updates/updates_statistics/updates_domestic_abuse_statistics-2.htm