Try GOLD - Free
Three in 10 adults experienced abuse in childhood, study finds
The Guardian
|November 06, 2025
Nearly a third of women in England and Wales were abused as a child, along with just over a quarter of men, according to new figures that for the first time include emotional, physical or sexual abuse as well as neglect.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates 31.5% of women and 26.4% of men experienced some form of abuse as a child, a total of 13.6 million - almost three in 10 - people.
Emotional abuse was the most commonly experienced type of childhood abuse among adults (22.7%), followed by physical abuse (16.5%), sexual abuse (9.1%) and neglect (7.6%).
The ONS head of crime statistics, Meghan Elkin, said: "Child abuse is appalling in all its forms and affects some of the most vulnerable in society, but it is also something that is little discussed or understood.
This story is from the November 06, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM The Guardian
The Guardian
Garnacho saves sorry Chelsea from shock defeat by Qarabag
Chelsea’s precision is nowhere to be seen when Enzo Maresca rings the changes.
3 mins
November 06, 2025
The Guardian
Lights, camera, tax break The producer churning out flops funded by Treasury
Only the geekiest film buffs will have heard of Alan Latham, but he is one of the UK's most prolific movie producers.
4 mins
November 06, 2025
The Guardian
Academics tell of 'heavy pressure' from China
UK academics whose research is critical of China say they have been targeted and their universities subjected to “extremely heavy” pressure from Beijing, prompting calls for a fresh look at the sector’s dependence on tuition fee income from Chinese students.
3 mins
November 06, 2025
The Guardian
Lammy's luck is facing an opponent who can't count and has lost track of his gotcha moment
He had one job.
2 mins
November 06, 2025
The Guardian
"The money you get in football means the parasites come'
The former West Ham, Chelsea and England footballer, a gifted maverick who always felt a man out of time, playing a game years ahead of most of his contemporaries, smiles when I ask how old he feels now: \"Forty-four. I'm 44 [this Saturday].
6 mins
November 06, 2025
The Guardian
'A true champion' Hope overflows in New York as the outsider candidate claims victory
Zohran Mamdani's election downtown night party in Brooklyn on Tuesday night saw hundreds of his supporters erupt in applause as the democratic socialist from Queens was elected the next mayor of New York City.
4 mins
November 06, 2025
The Guardian
Confusion at the gates Why system can't keep track of inmates
The mistaken release of a second foreign prisoner has forced ministers to once again revaluate their security and release procedures, and will once again shine a spotlight on the well-documented problems at HMP Wandsworth.
2 mins
November 06, 2025
The Guardian
Lammy under pressure after two more prisoners mistakenly freed
David Lammy is under mounting pressure after two more prisoners, including a convicted foreign sex offender, were mistakenly freed days after the justice secretary introduced stringent checks for jails.
4 mins
November 06, 2025
The Guardian
High-speed rail network could cover Europe by 2040, says EU
Breakfast in Berlin, lunch in Copenhagen, with a fast and easy train journey to pass the morning?
2 mins
November 06, 2025
The Guardian
Tale of two city mayors Mamdani joins Khan on divided world stage
While the soon-to-be first Muslim mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, was in the final throes of his mayoral campaign on a brisk day in New York, Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of London, was wrapping up a two-day climate summit in a steamy if overcast Rio de Janeiro.
4 mins
November 06, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size