Women’s experiences of crime and the criminal justice system

Natalie Low; Rosie Knighton

Overview

The horizon scan highlighted various distinct and complex issues related to women’s experiences of crime and the criminal justice system (CJS). This article covers:

violence and abuse against women and girls
female victims’ experiences of the CJS
women’s experiences of prosecution, sentencing and prison

Although definitions vary, violence against women and girls (VAWG) takes many forms, including:[1]^,[2],[3]

domestic abuse, the most prevalent form, with 2.3 million victims estimated in the 2019-20 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW)[4]
rape and sexual violence
so-called ‘honour-based’ abuse and forced marriage[5]^,[6]
abuse covered by new offences introduced since 2010, such as stalking, and controlling or coercive behaviour

The government’s 2021 Tackling VAWG Strategy acknowledged the “profound effect” of such crimes on victims, survivors and wider society. In 2023, the National Police Chiefs’ Council noted an increase of 37% in police recorded VAWG between 2018 and 2023, and that VAWG was now an “epidemic”, with 3,000 cases recorded daily across England and Wales.[7] In 2024, the Labour government confirmed its manifesto aim to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade.[8]^,[9]

Women tend to be under-represented as offenders in the CJS compared to men, particularly for more serious offences. In 2021, 21% of individuals dealt with by the CJS were female.[10] The 2007 Corston Report for the Home Office advised “the need for a distinct, radically different, visibly-led, holistic, woman-centred, integrated approach” for female offenders, who are more likely to have vulnerabilities related to caring responsibilities for children or others, domestic or personal circumstances, abuse and victimisation, or socio-economic factors.[11] The House of Commons Justice Committee, and horizon scan contributors, reiterated the need for a different approach to dealing with women in the CJS.[12]

In 2018, the government’s Female Offender Strategy prioritised reducing the number of women in the CJS.[13] A 2023 Delivery Plan committed to reducing the number of women entering the CJS overall, and those serving short custodial sentences, and improving outcomes for women prisoners in custody and after release.[14]

Challenges and opportunities

Alongside improving victim support and increasing the number of prosecutions, the 2021 Tackling VAWG strategy aimed to prioritise prevention, including through a national communications campaign.² It noted the mandating of Relationships and Sex Education in secondary schools from 2020, with the provision of additional support to teachers.²

There is a growing online element to VAWG and abuse against women.[15] For example, VAWG can be facilitated by websites and blogs where men express views hostile to women, the so-called ‘manosphere’.[16] The Serious Crime Act 2015 and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 cover some elements related to digital coercive control, and the Online Safety Act 2023 prohibits service providers from hosting harmful content.¹⁵^,[17] However, academic experts highlighted that this legislation does not recognise the full scope of online VAWG and fails to outline preventative approaches.[18]

Following the rape and murder of Sarah Everard in 2021 by a serving police officer, research for The End Violence Against Women Coalition found that 47% of women and 40% of men reported a decline in trust for the police after seeing details of the crime.[19] Academic research has also highlighted how the language of police reports can undermine female victims and their experiences.[20] After Wayne Couzens was sentenced for the murder of Sarah Everard, a police commissioner was reported as stating that women “need to be streetwise about when they can be arrested and when they can’t be arrested”.²⁰

Government and sector stakeholders have expressed concern over the low levels of reporting VAWG, which is a barrier to understanding women’s experience of crime and the CJS.¹⁰^,¹⁸ For example, the CSEW estimated 2.1 million people experiencing domestic abuse in the year ending March 2023, while police recorded 889,818 cases over the same period.[21] The proposed Crime and Policing Bill will include measures to provide a stronger, specialist police response to VAWG.[22]

In a 2021 review of rape crimes , the government acknowledged that the CJS was “letting down rape victims”.[23] Home Office data for 2020/21 showed that only 1.3% of recorded rape offences assigned an outcome resulted in a charge or summons.[24] This is for a variety of reasons including longer investigation times, victims withdrawing, and pressures on resources.[25]^,[26] The review noted that the median number of days taken from an offence being committed to completion of the case increased by 73% between 2011-2019, from 1 day to 19 days.²⁵ Furthermore, in a Home Office-funded survey of rape and sexual assault survivors, 39% of respondents felt less safe after the police response.²⁶ As part of an ambition to more than double the number of adult rape cases reaching court between 2021 and 2024, the Home Office implemented Operation Soteria Bluestone, which combined research with piloting improved procedures in four forces.[27] A 2022 progress report found several issues that still needed addressing, including a lack of specialist knowledge and training, disproportionate investigation into the victim, and officer burnout.²⁷

In 2022, the Justice Committee’s inquiry on Women in Prison reported a lack of progress with implementation of the Female Offender Strategy.[28] Ministry of Justice forecasts predicted an increase in the female prison population of over a third between 2022 and 2025.²⁸ In May 2024, the government reported that there had been a 25% increase in the remand women’s population for December 2022-December 2023.[29] One of the key issues highlighted in the scan was prison capacity.[30] In early 2021 the government announced that it would build up to 500 new places in existing women’s prisons.[31] The charity Women in Prison criticised such moves on the grounds that it undermined the government’s strategy to reduce the number of women in prison.[32]

A 2020 white paper outlined the pilot of residential women’s centres as alternatives to short custodial sentences.[33] Women are disproportionately given short prison sentences, which have been criticised for their cost and effectiveness (PB52). In November 2023, the Sentencing Council for England and Wales consulted on changes to the guidelines for using community and custodial sentences, to include specific considerations, such as caring responsibilities, when sentencing female offenders.[34]

The horizon scan also highlighted further legal and process issues which may affect women and men differently:

In 2023, Independent Monitoring Boards highlighted the high level of mental health need and self-harm incidents in women’s prisons, and that female offenders can be sentenced to custodial sentences just on the grounds of mental health.[35] In a 2021/22 HM Inspectorates of Prison Survey, female prisoners were more likely than males to report problems with mental health, drugs, alcohol, money and housing.¹⁰
The Prison Reform Trust has found that the criminal justice system may not take proper account of women who commit crime due to experience of sexual abuse or violence.[36] 57% of women in prison report having been victims of domestic violence as adults, and academics believe that this is likely an underestimate. Women who are victims to such abuse often become “trapped in a vicious cycle of victimisation and criminal activity”.³⁶
In relation to female victims, an independent review of sentencing for domestic homicide in 2023 recommended a comprehensive review of the use of the ‘rough sex’ defence for murder, where a defendant claims injuries were sustained through consensual sex.[37] The government partially accepted this recommendation and asked the Law Commission to examine the uses of defence in domestic abuse cases.[38]

Key uncertainties/unknowns

In August 2024, the Home Secretary announced a review of the UK counter-terrorism strategy, including treating extreme misogyny as a form of extremism.[39] It is not known how this may affect the response to VAWG.

Academic experts also highlighted the wider sensitive and complex issues raised by gender-specific definitions in legislation. For example, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, only men can commit rape.[40]^,[41] They also highlighted concerns about the experience of transgender women in the CJS. Despite efforts to improve awareness of LGBTQIA+ communities, in 2023, Stonewall reported that hate crimes against trans people increased by 11% that year, and 186% in the previous five.[42] A survey of 108,100 transgender people for Stop Hate UK found high levels of non-reporting, with 88% of respondents not reporting the most serious incidents to the police.[43]

Key questions for Parliament

How can the government work with police, health professionals, local authorities, and other stakeholders to make sure that VAWG is recognised and better reported?
What government approaches are effective in preventing VAWG, including through education in schools?
How can the government improve confidence in the policing of VAWG?
How can the CJS increase the number and timeliness of rape cases brought to prosecution?
What actions is the government taking to reduce the number of women in prison, and how do these align with new prison places being created for female prisoners?
What does the government and CJS understand about how and why women are treated differently from men in convicting, sentencing and in prison, and how can it ensure equity?