Almost one in three adults in England and Wales experienced some form of abuse before the age of 18, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics, highlighting the long-lasting impact of childhood trauma across society.
The latest Crime Survey for England and Wales, covering the year ending March 2024, estimates that 13.6 million people were subjected to abuse during childhood. The data offers one of the clearest pictures yet of how widespread child abuse remains and how deeply it continues to affect lives well into adulthood.
Emotional abuse was the most common form reported, affecting 22.7% of adults, followed by physical abuse at 16.5%, sexual abuse at 9.1%, and neglect at 7.6%. Many respondents reported experiencing more than one type of abuse while growing up.
Women were significantly more likely than men to report childhood abuse. Overall, 31.5% of women said they were abused before turning 18, compared with 26.4% of men. The disparity was most pronounced in cases of sexual abuse, which affected 13.9% of women versus 4.1% of men.
The findings also underline how childhood abuse shapes adult outcomes. Adults who experienced abuse were more than twice as likely to report low life satisfaction, with 8.4% saying they felt dissatisfied with their lives compared with 4% of those who were not abused. They were also more than three times as likely to have experienced domestic abuse in the past year, at 15.4% compared with 4.5%.
In the majority of cases, abuse was carried out by family members. Fathers and mothers were most frequently identified as perpetrators of emotional and physical abuse. Fathers were named in 29.4% of emotional abuse cases and 45.6% of physical abuse cases, while mothers were cited in 25.6% and 37.2% respectively.
For sexual abuse, most victims said they knew the perpetrator. However, a third of cases involved a stranger, particularly in incidents of non-contact abuse such as online exploitation. Perpetrators were overwhelmingly male, accounting for 91.3% of cases, and 70% were aged 18 or over at the time of the abuse.
The survey also reveals stark inequalities between different groups. People from mixed ethnic backgrounds reported higher rates of childhood abuse at 40.2%, while 42% of disabled adults said they had experienced abuse. More than half of adults whose gender identity differs from their sex at birth, 53.4%, reported abuse before the age of 18.
Sexual orientation was also a significant factor. Abuse was reported by 62.5% of bisexual adults and 48.1% of gay or lesbian adults, compared with 27.7% of heterosexual respondents.
The ONS said the findings demonstrate the scale of childhood abuse in England and Wales and reinforce the need for sustained prevention, early intervention and long-term support for survivors.
