Notes on domestic violence for AQA Sociology - Official statistics

Official Statistics on domestic violence understate the true extent of the problem for two main reasons:

Firstly, victims may be unwilling to report it to the police. Stephanie Yearnshire (1997) found that on average a woman suffers 35 assaults before making a report. Domestic violence is the violent crime least likely to be reported.

Secondly, police and prosecutors may be reluctant to record, investigate or prosecute those cases that are reported to them.…