Child sexual abuse statistics in the UK

Release date:
8 May 2024

FOI REF: FOI-2024-1935 

You asked

As part of my research project, I am seeking access to data related to child sexual abuse statistics in the United Kingdom. Specifically, I am interested in obtaining the following information:

  1. The total number of reported cases of child sexual abuse in the West Midlands from August 2023 to March 2024, covered by your organization or department.

  2. Demographic breakdown of the victims and perpetrators, including age, gender, ethnicity, and relationship to the victim (if available).

  3. Details on any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions related to child sexual abuse within the specified timeframe.

  4. Any relevant policies, protocols, or initiatives implemented by your organization or department to address child sexual abuse.

Please provide the requested information in a format that allows for easy analysis, such as a spreadsheet or CSV file. If the data is available for multiple years or geographic areas, please include all relevant periods or regions.

We said

Thank you for your enquiry.

  1. Appendix table 4a found here: Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) gives a month by month breakdown of the number of crimes recorded by the police including a range of offences relating to the sexual abuse of a child at a national level. These data are currently only available up to year-ending December 2023. Data for the year-ending March 2024 will be available in July 2024. The Crime in England and Wales: Police Force Area data tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) contain information on the number of sexual offences at a regional level. However, unfortunately, this does not contain data specifically on child sexual abuse.

  2. The ONS produce statistics from two main sources, the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), and Police Recorded Crime (PRC). Our publications and data primarily relate to crime as it is experienced by victims, or as it is recorded by the police. Our most recent data on victim characteristics for sexual offences for the year ending March 2022 can be found here: Sexual offences prevalence and victim characteristics, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk). Tables D5 and D6 of the Crime in England and Wales: Annual Trend and Demographic Tables - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) contain demographic breakdowns of children who experience crime generally for the year ending March 2023. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) are primarily responsible for data on offenders and can be contacted at: ESD@justice.gov.uk. 

  3. We do not hold information on investigations or outcomes of crimes. Please contact the Ministry of Justice at: ESD@justice.gov.uk. 

  4. The latest data published by ONS on child abuse is available here.

We have also published information on our work exploring the feasibility of a survey measuring child abuse in the UK which may be of interest. This is available here.

The Home Office may be better placed to help with your queries. They can be contacted via the following email address foirequests@homeoffice.gov.uk. Additionally, the Department for Education may also have information regarding policies to address child sexual abuse. They can be contacted via their Contact Form. 

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