New figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that nearly one-third of women (31.5 %) and just over a quarter of men (26.4 %) aged 18 and over in England and Wales experienced some form of abuse in childhood. This corresponds to approximately 13.6 million adults — almost three in ten of the adult population.
For the first time the data include broader definitions of childhood abuse, capturing emotional maltreatment, physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.
Types of Abuse: Emotional Leads, Neglect Lags
The survey found emotional abuse was the most commonly experienced type (22.7 %), followed by physical abuse (16.5 %), sexual abuse (9.1 %) and neglect (7.6 %).
Women reported higher rates than men across most abuse categories, except physical abuse where no significant gender difference emerged. In terms of sexual abuse, about 13.9 % of women reported being abused before age 18 compared with 4.1 % of men.
According to the survey, the vast majority of child sexual-abuse perpetrators were male — 91.3 % of all victims said their abuser was male, and 94.2 % of female victims said they were abused exclusively by males.
Disproportionate Impact on Marginalised Groups
The figures highlight major disparities. Among LGBTQ+ adults: 48.1 % of gay and lesbian people and 62.5 % of bisexual people reported experiencing abuse before age 18 — compared with 27.7 % of heterosexuals. Some 53.4 % of people whose gender identity differed from the sex recorded at birth reported childhood abuse, versus 28.9 % of those whose gender identity aligned with their birth sex.
Disabled adults reported higher childhood abuse rates at 42 %, compared with 26.4 % among non-disabled respondents.
Meanwhile, people from a mixed ethnic background reported abuse at 40.2 %, higher than white (31 %), black (18.2 %) or Asian (14.7 %) backgrounds.
Hidden Crime, Long-Term Effects
Meghan Elkin, head of crime statistics at the ONS, said the estimates are “vitally important in supporting decision-making for what is often a hidden crime.”
Charities emphasise that understanding prevalence is key to targeting prevention, support and funding. For example, NSPCC is working with the ONS on a new survey to improve understanding of abuse prevalence.
Expert briefings also note that while this self-report data is valuable, it still likely under-estimates the true scale because many instances go unreported or unrecorded.
The release of the abuse-during-childhood dataset for the year ending March 2024 builds on previous efforts but uses a significantly broader definition of abuse for the first time.
In parallel, official statistics show that the number of children in need of protection in England is rising for certain categories — for example, neglect, which increased by about 1.2 % in 2024.
Moreover, a recent report from the CSA Centre (Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse) found that the number of new sexual-abuse protection plans in 2023-24 was at its lowest level in thirty years, despite an estimated 500,000 children experiencing some form of sexual abuse each year in England and Wales — indicating a widening gap between prevalence and detection.
Implications for Policy and Future Action
Given the high prevalence and the elevated risk among marginalised groups, the findings suggest urgent action is required:
•Targeted prevention programmes must focus on emotional abuse and neglect in addition to physical and sexual abuse.
•Policies must be tailored to support disproportionally affected populations — LGBTQ+, disabled, and mixed-ethnicity individuals.
•Improved data collection and surveying are critical to monitor trends and ensure resources align with need. The ONS is exploring a dedicated national survey on child abuse.
•The child-protection system needs strengthening: the discrepancy between prevalence and recorded protection/plans suggests many children remain undetected or unsupported.
•Increased funding and service capacity are necessary for long-term support of adult survivors, whose childhood experiences carry enduring social, health and economic costs.
Key Take-aways
Nearly three in ten adults in England and Wales report having experienced some form of childhood abuse — a figure far higher than many public estimates. Emotional abuse is the most common category and marginalised groups face especially high risks. While the new data marks progress in understanding the scale of the problem, experts warn that many cases remain hidden, and the child-protection framework must adapt to meet evolving needs.
