To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) recorded and (b) estimated actual number of incidents of domestic violence against (i) women and (ii) men was in the latest period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. (229293)

From the information collected centrally on police recorded crime, it is not possible to identify recorded cases of domestic violence. Such offences are not specifically defined by law and details of the individual circumstances of offences are not collected.

The British Crime Survey (BCS) is a nationally representative survey of adults living in private households in England and Wales. The survey asks about crimes that have been experienced in the last 12 months including those not reported to or recorded by the police. Latest estimates from the 2007-08 BCS, show that 288,000 incidents of domestic violence were committed against women and 52,000 incidents against men.