Rape Reports Are At An All-Time High In England And Wales

The National Office of Statistics has revealed its crime statistics for the year. While the ongoing pandemic has limited most crimes, like theft, sexual violence crimes continue to soar. The number of rape reports has risen to an all-time high, with recorded sexual offences increasing by 8% from the previous year.

'Rape accounted for 37% of all sexual offences recorded by the police. The number of rape offences in the year ending June 2021 was the highest ever recorded annual figure to date (61,158 offences),' the report reads. The number of domestic violence crimes also increased by 6% in the year, to almost 850,000 offences.

The ONS said the record was driven by a large increase between April and June, in which there were 17,300 rape offences, compared with a quarterly average of between 12,000 and 15,000.

While these statistics are unnerving, the ONS report highlights that the increase may reflect 'a number of factors, including the impact of high-profile cases and campaigns on victims’ willingness to report incidents’, the report said, rather than this number simply being a reflection of the number of rapes committed.

Nick Stripe, the head of crime statistics, said: 'Prior to the pandemic, the number of police-recorded sexual offences was well below the number of victims estimated by the Crime Survey for England & Wales, with fewer than one in six victims of rape or assault by penetration reporting the crime to the police.’

On Twitter, he also noted that the increase could be due to victim reporting as lockdowns eased, an increase in the number of victims or an increase in victims’ willingness to report incidents and stressed that 'caution should be taken when analysing the new figures’. But after the deaths of Sabina Nessa, Sarah Everard and a series of movements to highlight te scale of male violence in this country, it's hard to look at numbers this high and feel anything remotely positive.

The killing of Sarah Everard provoked a much-needed national debate over women’s safety, sexual violence, and the role of police in this problem, with even the Duchess of Cornwall putting pressure on governing bodies - and men in general - to do more.

But responses have been disappointing, to say the least. Protests were met with physical violence from the Met Police and they responded to women’s distrust in authority figures with ‘advice’ suggesting we wave down a bus if we’re ever in trouble. Rather than prioritising women’s safety, a watchdog report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found quite literally the opposite - that is was not, in fact, a priority. At times, the Met have even appeared to separate themselves from the issue completely, speaking as though Everard’s murderer, Wayne Couzens, was not a police officer himself.

Despite Stripe’s advice, it’s hard not to look at these stats and feel a cold chill as a woman walking through this world. They are a haunting reflection of this country’s male violence problem. And while these report statistics climb to a record high, conviction rates continuously fall to devastating lows.

Five months ago, figures obtained from the Home Office by The Guardian showed fewer than one in 60 rape cases lead to conviction in England and Wales. Of 52,210 rapes recorded by police in England and Wales in 2020, only 843 resulted in a charge or a summons – a rate of 1.6%. At the time of writing, the conviction rates for 2021 have not been released to the public.

Witnessing and partaking in important conversations about rape - as we have been since the #MeToo movement went viral in 2017 - are helpful, but little has changed for most women. We have not seen the systemic change that we need to create the shift in our daily lives. This increase could well represent women feeling more comfortable coming forward, but as people have less confidence in the police now, who can say that with certainty?

Statistics this frightening should not be met with scepticism and justifications. Whether they represent a positive change to rape culture or a grim story of how often rape happens in England and Wales, they embody the urgency of protecting women and fixing the UK’s male violence.

Read More:

Tackling Male Violence Is ‘Not A Priority’ Within The Police, Watchdog Report Finds

'The Pandemic Has Created A Sexual Harassment Crisis For Women'

‘We Are Still Being Killed By Misogyny’