The UK since birth.

Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
Authors: Jessica Taylor & Jaimi Shrive
Published: April 2021
© VictimFocus 2021
This study was funded by profits from VictimFocus Resources. Our sincere thanks to everyone who
purchased educational resources from VictimFocus in 2020, which enabled us to invest in this work.
This ‘key facts’ document was generated from the main research report entitled ‘I thought it was
just a part of life: Analysing the prevalence of violence committed against women in the UK since
birth’.
Enquiries to Dr Jessica Taylor at [email protected]
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Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
Content
Executive summary 4
Recommendations 7
Introduction 12
Summary of methodology 14
About the sample 18
Overall findings from 22,419 women 20
Violence against women before 18 years old: Key facts 21
Violence against women after 18 years old: Key facts 23
Reporting and disclosure of violence against women: Key facts 26
Perpetrators of violence against women: Key facts 27
Impact of violence against women: Key facts 28
Future research 30
Acknowledgements 30
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Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
Executive Summary
VictimFocus invested in this study to collect accurate data about violent acts committed
against women and girls since birth. Our aims were as much about gathering accurate data
from women, as they were about what we could do with such a comprehensive dataset. The
first aim was to present a clear picture of how much violence women and girls in the UK are
subjected to, broken down into types of violence, how many times they had been subjected
to it and who committed those acts of violence against them. The second aim has
considerable theoretical and practical implications; to explore whether the dataset
supported existing theories of violence against women and girls.
Understanding our aims
Women and girls are subjected to violence, abuse, and harassment, but there is much
argument about how common this is. For some, the argument is made that women and girls
are now equal and do not face oppression, discrimination or abuse for simply being female.
Statistics about the prevalence of domestic and sexual violence are frequently contested, or
critiqued as being exaggerated or falsified.
This most often happens when statistics are taken from small sample sizes, or from the
answers to questions with ambiguous language which could have led to over or underresponding. We sought to address these methodological issues by creating a study which
avoided ambiguous or inaccessible language, was easy to complete and had the largest
sample size possible within the timeframe.
The second aim relates to several key theories in fields such as psychology, criminology,
social work and policing which attempt to explain why women and girls are subjected to
violence and abuse. One such theory is ‘vulnerability theory’ – the argument that only
certain women and girls with inherent vulnerabilities and risks would be targeted or abused
by others (usually men).
This approach to understanding violence against women and girls has led to considerable
interventions, programmes, education which lean towards victim blaming. Women and girls
are assessed and categorised as vulnerable or putting themselves at risk, and professional
responses can often include advice to stop doing things, going to places, wearing certain
clothing, behaving in certain ways and thinking or feeling certain ways. Instead of addressing
the societal issue of violence against women and girls, male violence, patriarchal norms,
gender role stereotypes, lack of prosecution of offenders and several other casual factors,
many professionals are instead taught to correct or improve the woman or girl.
We were therefore interested in whether our data would support the idea that only certain
groups of women and girls are subjected to violence and abuse. However, our data did not
support this theory, instead demonstrating that women and girls from every walk of life
have been subjected to violence and abuse in their lives.
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Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
Repeat victimisation has interested academics and practitioners for decades, with several
theories which seek to explain why some women and girls are subjected to violence
repeatedly in their lifetimes. We were interested if this was correct, especially as most
women can recount several times that they have been sexually harassed, assaulted or
abused. This is the reason we asked every woman how many times each offence had been
committed against them in childhood, and then again in adulthood.
Several revictimisation theories argue that certain women and girls are repeatedly targeted
for abuse, rape or harassment because of something specific about them (low self-esteem,
poor communication, low confidence, low self-worth, vulnerabilities, risk taking behaviours
and so on). We wanted to use a large dataset to consider whether there were certain
groups of women who were much more likely to be repeatedly victimised, but this was not
supported by our data either.
Understanding the true scale of violence against women and girls in the UK
We found that 99.7% of our sample had been repeatedly subjected to violence including
assaults, harassment and rape. Only 0.3% of women had only been subjected to one violent
incident or less.
In total, 22,419 women reported that they had collectively been subjected to at least
808,607 acts of violence including 216,965 physical assaults and 363,964 sexual assaults. In
their childhoods, women were collectively subjected to 395,558 acts of violence (49%) and
in adulthood, women were subjected to 413,050 acts of violence (51%).
Overall, this meant that of 22,419 women living in the UK, they were all subjected to at least
37 acts of violence each, in their lives since birth.
Our findings in this report suggest that current statistics of the prevalence of violence
against women have been underestimated for decades, and instead, it is likely that every
woman and girl will be subjected to violence, abuse, rape or harassment. In the vast
majority of cases reported here, women were subjected to multiple crimes and the
perpetrators were overwhelmingly male.
What can we do with this new data?
There are several important ways to utilise this data, and we hope that it will be considered
by academics, government, authorities, police, social care, psychology, national health and
mental health services. We will release a specific report this summer which will explore
implications for all levels of authority, policy and politics.
In the short term, the most important implication of this report is to change the way we
report and talk about violence committed against women and girls as if it is rare, uncommon
or only affecting certain groups of women and girls. It is better positioned as a systemic,
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Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
global, enduring phenomenon than a set of crimes that are either rare, or precipitated by
women and girls’ behaviours or characters.
This data should be used to challenge victim blaming, stereotyping of victims, interventions
and programmes which seek to pinpoint particular characteristics within a woman or girl to
explain why they were subjected to violence, abuse or harm.
It appears from this sample that violence and abuse against women and girls is a universal
experience, with only 0.3% of the sample reporting that they had never been subjected to
any violence, harassment, abuse or harm.
If this is correct, theories which suggest that only certain women are subjected to violence
and abuse, and that these forms of violence against women and girls are rare or
exaggerated are shown to be inaccurate and misleading. Instead, the true scale of violence
and abuse committed against women and girls sits closer to 100% than any of the
conservative estimates of 1 in 4, 1 in 5, or 1 in 20, which have been used for several years.
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Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
Recommendations
This is a summary of recommendations which may change or increase when the full report
is released in summer 2021.
Police
1. Explore low reporting rates and low confidence rates of women and girls and seek
feedback to support systemic change
2. Explore low charging rates of violent crimes against women and girls
3. Invest in updated training and ongoing education of officers and management to
increase understanding of the scale of violence against women and girls, and to
dispel myths of rarity or vulnerability of women and girls as the cause or solution to
these offences
4. Remove any resources, practice tools or assessments which assume that only certain
women and girls will be subjected to violence and abuse
5. Remove any resources, practice tools or interventions which encourage women and
girls to change their clothing, behaviours, character, lifestyles or personal qualities to
‘protect themselves’ from violence and abuse
6. Remove reference to old statistics and theories which suggest that violence against
women (including rape, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, child sexual abuse and
harassment) are uncommon or precipitated by the victim
7. Use the findings of this report to challenge victim blaming and shaming of women
and girls subjected to all forms of interpersonal violence
Criminal justice system
1. Explore low prosecution rates for violent crimes against women and girls
2. Explore women and girls’ low confidence rates in the criminal justice system and
seek feedback to support systemic change
3. Explore how cultures, attitudes and myths about violence against women and girls
are impacting the justice process, despite significant evidence to support the
enduring prevalence of these crimes
4. Utilise expert witnesses in support of victims, especially those who can dispel myths,
misinformation and incorrect narratives about the likelihood of violence against
women and girls
5. Ensure that all staff are trained to identify and respond to disclosures, suspicions or
reports of violence against women and girls
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Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
Education environments
1. Discuss the scale and prevalence of violence against women and girls in age
appropriate, accessible and specific terms throughout school, college and university
years
2. Ensure that all girls and women in education know where to seek support, how to
seek support and what their rights are when they disclose, report or seek help
3. When teaching or discussing violence against women and girls, be specific and clear
about what constitutes harassment, abuse, assault, sexual violence, domestic
violence and coercion. This means clarifying and listing specific actions, words,
behaviours, tactics and controls.
4. Remove and disuse any educational resources about violence or abuse which have
victim blaming narratives or messages; especially those which suggest that violence
against women and girls is rare, or is precipitated by something about the girl
(behaviour, character, background, appearance, lifestyle). This includes those used
at secondary schools, colleges and universities
5. Robustly challenge and provide clear consequences for violence committed against
girls in school, college and university environments, including but not limited to,
sexual comments, sexual harassment, sexual assault, upskirting, making and sharing
of images, sexual abuse, domestic abuse within teen relationships, sexism and
misogyny
6. Ensure all staff members and management are suitably trained to identify and
respond to violence against girls in their school, college and university environments
7. Utilise local specialist women’s services to support education and care for girls and
women in education environments
Academic topics and research
1. When teaching modules about violence against women and girls, include the
findings of this report to explore methodology and results of asking large samples of
women about their experiences of violence and abuse
2. Consider updating violence against women prevalence statistics in teaching
materials, reading and lecture notes for all students
3. Challenge and critique traditional and influential theories in psychology, criminology,
sociology, policing, nursing, counselling and social care which focus on the
‘vulnerabilities’ of certain groups of women and girls as the cause of victimisation
4. Challenge and critique traditional and influential theories in psychology, criminology,
sociology, policing, nursing, counselling and social care which suggest that violence
against women and girls is rare, or is precipitated or encouraged by the character,
behaviour, appearance or lifestyle of the victim
5. When conducting research into violence against women and girls, consider being
specific about the acts of violence and abuse you are researching instead of using
broad, inaccessible or professional term that some women and girls may not relate
to or understand. (Instead of asking ‘have you ever been raped?’ consider asking
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Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
‘have you ever been forced, deceived or coerced to have sex that you didn’t consent
to?’)
6. When conducting research into violence against women and girls which includes
scenarios or vignettes, ensure that they contain examples which do not reinforce
stereotypes or myths about violence, abuse, rape or harassment
7. When conducting research into violence against women and girls which seeks to
identify characteristics, behaviours, appearances, childhood or lifestyles that ‘lead
to’ or ‘predispose’ women and girls to being raped, abused, harassed, assaulted or
harmed; consider whether this research contributes to victim blaming narratives and
individualisation of global violence against women and girls
8. Ensure that all staff are trained to identify and respond to disclosures, suspicions or
reports of violence against women and girls (including research participants and
students)
Social care
1. Challenge and change current systems which assume that women and girls subjected
to violence and abuse are targeted due to vulnerabilities, specific characteristics or
risks – and instead work with women and girls as assumed victims of a universal,
systemic culture of misogyny and violence against women.
2. Remove any resources, practice tools or assessments which assume that only certain
women and girls will be subjected to violence and abuse
3. Remove any resources, practice tools or interventions which encourage women and
girls to change their clothing, behaviours, character, lifestyles or personal qualities to
‘protect themselves’ from violence and abuse
4. Remove reference to old statistics and theories which suggest that violence against
women (including rape, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, child sexual abuse and
harassment) are uncommon or precipitated by the victim
5. Use the findings of this report to challenge victim blaming and shaming of women
and girls subjected to all forms of interpersonal violence
6. Challenge and critique any further use of theories or resources which support the
concept that only certain women and girls will be repeat victims, revictimised,
and/or any resources or tools which refer to a ‘cycle’ or ‘risk taking’ in relation to
women and girls who have been subjected to multiple forms of violence
7. Ensure that all staff are trained to identify and respond to disclosures, suspicions or
reports of violence against women and girls
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Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
Government
1. Consider violence against women and girls to be a universal issue for the entire
female half of the population, and address accordingly
2. Consider updating violence against women and girls prevalence statistics in policy,
briefings, reports and legislation to reflect how common these crimes are
3. Commit to exploring robust approaches to protecting women and girls from
repeated incidents of violence, abuse, harassment, harm and assaults from birth
4. Increase funding and governmental support for women’s services which specialise in
the support of women and girls subjected to violence and abuse
5. Commit to prioritising solutions, interventions and support for women and girls who
have been subjected to violence and abuse since birth
6. Ensure that all staff are trained to identify and respond to disclosures, suspicions or
reports of violence against women and girls
Media
1. Consider violence against women and girls to be a universal issue for the entire
female half of the population, and discuss, explore and research accordingly
2. Consider updating violence against women and girls prevalence statistics in briefings,
reports and articles to reflect how common these crimes are in UK society
3. Remove and disuse journalistic approaches which seek to explain or blame violence
against women and girls on their character, behaviour, appearance, lifestyle or
childhood
4. Refrain from reporting or framing violence against women and girls as rare,
exaggerated or falsified
Health and medical services
1. Ensure that all staff are trained to identify and respond to disclosures, suspicions or
reports of violence against women and girls
2. Consider violence against women and girls to be a universal issue for the entire
female half of the population, and discuss, explore and practice accordingly
3. Consider updating violence against women and girls prevalence statistics in training
materials, reports and guidance for professionals to reflect how common these
crimes are in UK society
4. Consider the implications for female patients undergoing any type of procedure (not
just those considered to be ‘sensitive’) who might be distressed, traumatised or
triggered by the environment, procedure, experiences, feelings or fears whilst in
your care
5. Ensure all women and girls can access female only spaces whilst in healthcare
facilities if needed
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Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
6. Ensure all women and girls can request chaperones or specify female professionals if
needed
7. Consider that the majority of women and girls have been or will be subjected to
violence and abuse, and their trauma responses are a normal, natural, justified
response to oppression. This means refraining from medicalising or pathologising
those responses as mental illnesses, disorders or syndromes
Training of professionals
1. Consider violence against women and girls to be a universal issue for the entire
female half of the population, and discuss, explore and teach accordingly
2. Consider updating violence against women and girls prevalence statistics in training
materials, reports and guidance for professionals to reflect how common these
crimes are in UK society
3. When teaching or discussing violence against women and girls, be specific and clear
about what constitutes harassment, abuse, assault, sexual violence, domestic
violence and coercion. This means clarifying and listing specific actions, words,
behaviours, tactics and controls.
4. Remove and disuse any educational resources about violence or abuse which have
victim blaming narratives or messages; especially those which suggest that violence
against women and girls is rare, or is precipitated by something about the woman or
girl (behaviour, character, background, appearance, lifestyle).
5. Challenge and critique traditional and influential theories in psychology, criminology,
sociology, policing, nursing, counselling and social care which focus on the
‘vulnerabilities’ of certain groups of women and girls as the cause of victimisation
6. Challenge and critique traditional and influential theories in psychology, criminology,
sociology, policing, nursing, counselling and social care which suggest that violence
against women and girls is rare, or is precipitated or encouraged by the character,
behaviour, appearance or lifestyle of the victim
7. Ensure that all staff are trained to identify and respond to disclosures, suspicions or
reports of violence against women and girls
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Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
Introduction
• Statistics on violence against women and girls are often estimated or extrapolated
from smaller sample sizes, or general samples about national crime
• Currently, the UK uses estimations of prevalence for domestic and sexual violence
committed against women and girls
• The most accurate data we have in the UK about specific acts of violence against
women or girls is the Femicide Census and annual femicide statistics which report
the murders of women and girls, the cause of death and in most cases, the
perpetrator
• One of the largest sources of annual data in the UK is the Crime Survey England and
Wales which recently reported that in the last 12 months, 1 in 40 women had been
raped, 1 in 5 had been stalked, and 1 in 10 younger people had been sexually
assaulted (CSEW, 2020).
• A recent YouGov study for UN Women focussed on the experiences of over 1000
women in public spaces and found that 7 in 10 women had been sexually harassed,
over half had been catcalled, 4 in 10 had been sexually touched, a third had been
followed and 1 in 5 had been the victim of indecent exposure (known as ‘flashing’)
(UN Women, 2021).
The purpose of this study
• This study was designed to collect more accurate and detailed information about
violence committed towards women before in childhood and after 18 years old
• The methodology is different to other studies, which aims to make the data more
accurate and easier to respond to for women who took part
There were several purposes to this study, outlined below.
1. To present accurate and detailed data about different kinds of violence committed
against women and girls in the UK since they were born
2. To demonstrate the difference in statistics when a more accessible data collection
method is utilised to ask women about violent crimes committed against them
3. To explore the relationship between demographics and violence committed against
women and girls; specifically common demographics which are employed in victim
blaming and discrediting of women who report or disclose violence and abuse. This
includes an interrogation of the assumed relationship between being subjected to
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Taylor, J. & Shrive, J. (2021) ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence
committed against women in the UK since birth.
violence and factors such as wealth, education, childhood experiences, confidence,
family structures, ethnicity, and age.
4. To explore dominant theories that only certain ‘types’ of women and girls are
‘revictimised’. Current theories and practice wisdom assume that only the most
‘vulnerable’ or ‘risk taking’ women and girls will be subjected to violence and abuse
multiple times.
5. To provide comprehensive data about the perpetrators of different kinds of violence
committed against women and girls
6. To explore the reporting and disclosure behaviours and experiences of women and
girls subjected to violence and abuse
7. To explore the impact violence and abuse has on women and girls in the UK
8. To explore the validity of, and relationship of ACEs and violence committed against
women and girls

Purpose: Summarize and appraise an article for bias and validity in a collaborative environment.

A Designs and Sampling
1. Identify and discuss the following:
a. what is known/not known about the topic and the gap in knowledge the study is intended to fill.
b. the research design, purpose of the study, and setting.
c. information about the sample:
i. method;
ii. size;
iii. inclusion/exclusion criteria,
iv. attrition/loss to follow up/response rate, if any;
v. important characteristics of the sample.
2. Appraise and debate the sampling methods and determine the quality of the sampling procedures in reducing bias. Consider the following questions:
a. Were inclusion/exclusion criteria adequate to reduce sampling bias? Why or why not?
b. Was the sample size adequate? Why or why not?
c. Was there a decrease in sample size? If so, did the researchers identify decreases early and attempt to reduce the impact? Was a decrease, if any, adequately explained by the researchers? Why or why not?

B Data Collection/Analysis
1. Identify and discuss the following:
a. measurement instruments, what they measured, and how/when/where the data was collected
b. the intervention and how it was carried out (description of intervention, who/when/where the intervention was applied)
2. Appraise and debate the quality of the data collection methods and determine whether the conclusions of the study were supported by the statistical results. Consider the following questions:
a. Was treatment fidelity ensured? Why or why not?
b. Were the measurement instruments reliable and valid? Why or why not?
c. Were the conclusions of the study supported by the results? Why or why not?
•
o
 Include key statistical results and p-values as part of your rationale.
C. Intro and Conclusion
1. Obtain relevant background information from a credible source other than the article and use it to explain why the issue is important to patients, organizations, and nurses.
2. Discuss the nursing implications of the findings of the research. Consider the following questions:
a. Did the statistics show significance?
b. Is the intervention clinically significant?
c. What are the risks vs. benefits of the intervention?
d. Is the intervention feasible (cost- and resource-efficient) to implement?