What demographic groups in the UK are most affected by sexual assault according to recent data?
Executive summary
Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) data for year ending March 2025 estimate 3.0% of females and 0.7% of males aged 16+ experienced sexual assault (including attempts) in the year — about 739,000 women and 162,000 men (CSEW) — and women therefore account for the large majority of recent victims [1] [2]. Reporting and police-recorded offences have risen in recent years (police recorded 209,079 sexual offences YE March 2025), but increases reflect both recorded crime and changes such as new Online Safety Act offences [3].
1. Women bear the highest burden — by a large margin
Official survey estimates show females experienced sexual assault at a rate of 3.0% in the year ending March 2025 compared with 0.7% for males; that equates to about 739,000 female victims versus 162,000 male victims aged 16 and over [1] [2]. Multiple advocacy and charity sources echo that women are disproportionately affected and that many survivors are repeat victims, which underlines concentrated harm among women [4] [5].
2. Young people and age patterns — prevalence concentrated among younger adults
ONS reporting and related analysis indicate higher prevalence of sexual assault among younger age groups (data available in ONS victim-characteristics releases and CSEW tables); long‑term trends show prevalence among 16–59 year olds around 2.4% in YE March 2025, with notable increases since 2015 [3]. Specific age-breakdown tables are referenced by ONS but detailed figures by narrow age bands are in the victim-characteristics publications [3] [2].
3. Ethnicity and other demographic dimensions — limited but documented breakdowns
ONS has published ethnicity breakdowns historically and responds to FOI requests about sexual violence by ethnicity; tables exist (for example Table 5 in YE March 2020) but the current summary releases reference these historical tables rather than providing a single up‑to‑date ethnic breakdown in the headline bulletin [6]. Available sources confirm ONS publishes ethnicity data in appendix tables, but this briefing does not find a single, current headline figure for each ethnic group in the YE March 2025 summary [6].
4. Police-recorded crime vs. survey estimates — different pictures, both important
Police-recorded sexual offences rose to 209,079 in YE March 2025 and the long‑run recorded-rape series shows increases since 2012/13, but the ONS warns that over half the recent police rise is attributable to the introduction and recording of new online offences under the Online Safety Act 2023 [3] [7]. The CSEW is called the best measure of victimisation and gives a different scale — around 900,000 people experienced sexual assault in the year (739,000 females + 162,000 males) — reflecting underreporting to police and different measurement aims [1] [2].
5. Children and young people — separate evidence, greater uncertainty
Child sexual abuse prevalence is treated separately; charities and specialist research note uncertainty but estimate substantial numbers — for example a study cited by NSPCC suggests around 1 in 20 children aged 11–17 have experienced sexual abuse, and the NSPCC stresses gaps in measuring children’s experiences [8]. ONS and other official outputs distinguish child sexual offences in police and court datasets, but headline adult sexual‑assault figures from the CSEW do not capture all patterns for under‑16s [1] [8].
6. Reporting, measurement changes and trends — interpret with caution
ONS and other commentators caution that changes in survey questions, sample sizes, and the addition of new offences (Online Safety Act) affect trends: CSEW estimates for sexual assault in YE March 2024 and 2025 are based on a half sample and the ONS has been redeveloping sexual victimisation questions, so year‑on‑year comparisons require care [1] [9] [10]. Police increases can reflect recording practice and legal changes rather than only rising prevalence [3].
7. What the sources agree and where gaps remain
Sources consistently show women are far more likely to be recent victims than men and that hundreds of thousands of adults experienced sexual assault in the most recent CSEW year [1] [2]. Sources diverge in emphasis: charities focus on lifetime prevalence and service demand [4] [5], Statista and police data emphasise recorded offences and trend lines [7] [11], and ONS explains measurement caveats [1] [3]. Available sources do not mention a single, unified breakdown combining sex, age, ethnicity and socioeconomic status for YE March 2025 in one table — those detailed cross‑tabulations are in ONS appendix tables or older releases [6].
Limitations: this analysis relies solely on the documents provided. For granular subgroup rates (e.g., by specific ethnicity, detailed age bands, disability or sexual orientation for YE March 2025) consult the full ONS victim‑characteristics tables and supporting appendix files cited by ONS [2] [6].