Violence against women at ‘epidemic’ levels and is a threat on par with terrorism, UK police warn

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s police chiefs say that violence against women and girls has reached “epidemic levels” and police are treating it as a threat on the same scale as terrorism. More than 1 million violent crimes against women and girls were recorded by U.K. police in 2022 to 2023, according to a new report published Tuesday. That accounted for one-fifth of all recorded crime. One in every six murders was related to domestic abuse in the same period. At least one in every 12 women each year will be a victim of crimes including sexual offenses, rape, stalking, harassment or online sexual abuse, the report estimated. Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said the data was “staggering” and growing in scale and complexity every year.