One of the strengths of the CSEW is that it covers many crimes that are not reported to the police. Self-completion modules provide estimates of victims rather than incidents, and no cap is applied to this data. Unlike estimates from face-to-face interviews, estimates from the self-completion module are not affected by the current method of handling high-frequency repeat victimisation, which caps the number of reported incidents at five 6 (see Improving estimates of repeat victimisation derived from the Crime Survey for England and Wales for more information). Findings from this module are included in this article. This module was included in the year ending March 2017 CSEW, the first time in three years that the module has been run. There are two headline measures of sexual assault in the CSEW: one relates to experiences since the age of 16 and the other is limited to those experiences in the 12 months prior to interview.Īn additional self-completion module asking victims about the nature of incidents of rape or assault by penetration (including attempts) experienced is included in the CSEW on a rotating basis. The self-completion section of the survey provides the most reliable source of CSEW data on sexual assaults. Therefore, these figures are too unreliable to report and these data are excluded from the headline CSEW estimates. While some questions are asked about sexual assaults in the face-to-face section of the interview, a very small number are willing to disclose such sensitive incidents to the interviewer. The use of self-completion on tablet computers to collect such information allows respondents to feel more at ease when answering these sensitive questions, due to increased confidence in the privacy and confidentiality of the survey. They are measured as part of the self-completion module 4 on domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking 5. Sexual assaults measured by the CSEW cover rape or assault by penetration (including attempts), and indecent exposure or unwanted touching. More detailed findings from the Home Office Data Hub are provided in this article and additional breakdowns by police force area are included within the Appendix Tables published alongside this article. The latest police recorded crime data for the year ending March 2017 included within this article have previously been published in January 2018 alongside the Crime in England and Wales: year ending September 2017 bulletin.
This article provides more detailed findings and includes information on the nature of incidents experienced. Headline CSEW prevalence estimates for sexual assault included within this article have previously been published in July 2017 3. Sexual offences reported to and recorded by the police The self-completion modules of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on sexual assaults experienced by men and women aged 16 to 59 1 resident in households 2 in England and Wales This article includes information on sexual offences from two sources: How are sexual offences defined and measured? The increase in sexual offences recorded by the police is thought to be driven by improvements in recording practices and a greater willingness of victims to come forward to report such crimes, including non-recent victims.Ģ. The CSEW showed that around 5 in 6 victims (83%) did not report their experiences to the police. There has been no significant change in the prevalence of sexual assault measured by the CSEW between the year ending March 2005 (2.6%) and the year ending March 2017 (2.0%) surveys.
The CSEW estimated that 20% of women and 4% of men have experienced some type of sexual assault since the age of 16, equivalent to an estimated 3.4 million female victims and 631,000 male victims.Īn estimated 3.1% of women (510,000) and 0.8% of men (138,000) aged 16 to 59 experienced sexual assault in the last year, according to the year ending March 2017 CSEW no significant change from the previous year’s survey. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is the preferred measure of trends in the prevalence of sexual assault since this is unaffected by changes in police activity, recording practices and propensity of victims to report such crimes. This article has been superseded by Sexual offending: victimisation and the path through the criminal justice system.