Sustainable Development Goals - 17 Goals to Transform our World

Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age

Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age

Data follows the UN specification for this indicator and has been indentified in collaboration with topic experts. Data availability within the UK is limited to United Kingdom for this indicator.

Data availability within the UK is limited to England and Wales for this indicator.

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Percentage of people who experienced partner abuse in the previous 12 months

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Headline data

This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from UK statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from UK statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other UK-specific metadata information.

Indicator available Percentage of people who experienced partner abuse (non-physical abuse, threats, force, sexual assault or stalking) in the previous twelve months among women, aged 16 to 59.
Indicator description Percentage of people who experienced partner abuse (non-physical abuse, threats, force, sexual assault or stalking) in the previous twelve months among women aged 16 to 59.
Geographical coverage England and Wales
Unit of measurement Percentage (%)
Definitions Intimate partner violence includes any abuse perpetrated by a current or former partner within the context of marriage, cohabitation or any other formal or informal union. The different forms of violence included in the indicator are defined as follows: i) Physical violence consists of acts aimed at physically hurting the victim and include, but are not limited to, pushing, grabbing, twisting the arm, pulling the hair, slapping, kicking, biting or hitting with the fist or object, trying to strangle or suffocate, burning or scalding on purpose, or threatening or attacking with some sort of weapon, gun or knife; ii) Sexual violence is defined as any sort of harmful or unwanted sexual behaviour that is imposed on someone. It includes acts of abusive sexual contact, forced engagement in sexual acts, attempted or completed sexual acts without consent, incest, sexual harassment, etc. In intimate partner relationships, experiencing sexual violence is commonly defined as being forced to have sexual intercourse, having sexual intercourse out of fear for what the partner might do, and/or being forced to so something sexual that the woman considers humiliating or degrading; iii) Psychological violence includes a range of behaviours that encompass acts of emotional abuse and controlling behaviour. These often coexist with acts of physical and sexual violence by intimate partners and are acts of violence in themselves. For a more detailed definition of physical, sexual and psychological violence against women see Guidelines for Producing Statistics on Violence against Women- Statistical Surveys (UN, 2014). According to the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993), Violence against Women is “Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following: Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family […]”. See here for full definition: http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r104.htm.
Calculations No calculations were performed in the data acquisition of this indicator as appropriate data was readily available in the final format specified by this indicator. For insight into the details of potential calculations please refer to the original source metadata or source contact. A basic summary of the concept behind the formation of the indicator is as follows: Taking the total number of women aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales who experienced any abuse by a partner or ex-partner in the past 12 months and divided this by the total number of women with the same age category in England/Wales and multiplied by 100.
Other information Presently the only ages covered are between 16 and 59 but the upper bound of this is likely to increase over time. The original figures refer to data that runs from April of that year to March the following year. For example 2015 data date range is from April 2015 to March 2016. These data relate to women aged 16 and over (as opposed to 15 and over) The headline data are published in July, however the specific breakdowns (disaggregation’s, i.e. age, etc) are published in February. Coverage is limited to England and Wales.
Data last updated 2018-04-19: see changes on GitHub opens in a new window
Metadata last updated 2018-05-31: see changes on GitHub opens in a new window

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator name Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age
Indicator number 5.2.1
Target name Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
Target number 5.2
Global indicator description Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age
UN designated tier 2
UN custodian agency United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) World Health Organization (WHO) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Link to UN metadata United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Metadata (PDF 518 KB) opens in a new window

Source 1

Organisation Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Periodicity Annual
Earliest available data 2004
Geographical coverage England and Wales
Link to data source Appendix Tables - focus on violent crime and sexual offences opens in a new window
Release date 21-07-2016
Next release To be announced
Statistical classification National Statistic
Contact details National Statistic
Other information crimestatistics@ons.gsi.gov.uk'

Source 2

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