Repeat perpetrators linked to quarter of VAWG offences

The National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection (NCVPP) said the assessment provided the most comprehensive picture to date of threats facing women and girls across England and Wales, identifying domestic abuse, repeat offending and technology-enabled harm as key priorities.

Domestic abuse accounts for 65 per cent of VAWG-related offences, while more than half of recorded rape and serious sexual assault offences involve a current or former partner.

The assessment identifies repeat perpetrators as a significant driver of harm, with the most common age groups among those identified as responsible for offending being 15 to 19 and 30 to 49.

The findings underline the importance of identifying patterns of behaviour across multiple incidents and victims, rather than treating reports as isolated offences.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Millichap, director of the NCVPP, said the assessment provided a clearer understanding of the threats facing women and girls and where policing should focus its efforts.

“Domestic abuse remains the most significant threat, but the assessment also shows how offending continues to evolve through technology, exploitation and the growing risks facing children and young people,” she said.

She added that the role of repeat perpetrators reinforced the need to identify risk earlier and intervene before more victims were affected.

The assessment warns that online abuse, sexual extortion, image-based abuse and emerging artificial intelligence-related harms are increasingly intertwined with offending in the physical world.

Technology-facilitated coercive control and stalking are expected to become more challenging as surveillance tools become more sophisticated, cheaper and easier to conceal, potentially making offences harder to detect.

The report also highlights harmful behaviour between children, often influenced by online environments, peer dynamics and exposure to harmful content.

It says responses to children displaying harmful sexual behaviour must combine accountability with safeguarding and early intervention, recognising that some may themselves have experienced abuse, trauma or other vulnerabilities.

Public-space sexual offences and image-based abuse are also identified as significant threats requiring targeted prevention and enforcement.

The assessment covers approximately 1.4 million violence against women and girls and public protection offences, underlining the scale of demand facing police forces and partner agencies.

The NCVPP said it was working with forces and partner organisations to develop approaches that could be adopted nationally to identify and manage the most dangerous and prolific perpetrators.

This includes exploring a single national approach to identifying high-risk offenders, strengthening the use of protective measures and disclosure schemes, and supporting initiatives such as Project Soteria and Project Vigilant.

The assessment also calls for a coordinated response involving policing, government, education, health, social care, community organisations and technology companies.

Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid, said the assessment would help establish a more accurate national picture of the scale of violence experienced by women and girls.

She said domestic abuse remained the most significant and enduring threat, with harm often escalating and the likelihood of reoffending particularly high.

The report’s publication marks a step towards a more consistent national understanding of VAWG and public protection threats. However, the NCVPP said many offences might never be reported to police, meaning recorded figures do not capture the full extent of the problem.