Characteristics of men’s violence against women and girls in police-recorded crime

This fact sheet examines violence committed by male offenders against female victims, through non-driving homicide, assaults, sexual offences and stalking and associated offences.

Key findings include:

For the year 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

Most (77%) assault, sexual and stalking alleged offender incidents were committed by male offenders, predominately against female victims, including:
- 5 in 6 sexual offences (83%)
- 3 in 5 stalking, harassment and threatening behaviour offences (60%)
- 3 in 7 assault and related offences (43%).
For alleged offender incidents involving adult male offenders and female victims of any age:
- Assault and stalking offences were more likely to involve adults in a family violence context, compared with sexual offending.
- Sexual offending was more evenly split between non-family (48%) and family (44%) contexts, and was much more likely to involve female children as victims compared with other offence types in this study.
- Just over half (56%) of non-driving homicide incidents involved current or former partners.

Of the unique adult male alleged offenders in the study

1 in 8 (13%) were responsible for over a third (37%) of the cohorts total non-driving homicide, assault, stalking and sexual offence incidents against female victims over the last 10 years.
70% of stalking offenders were also recorded for an assault offence over the last 10 years, highlighting the risk of physical violence associated with stalking.
86% had a family-related non-driving homicide, assault, stalking or sexual offence against a female victim recorded in the last 10 years.

Over the 10 years 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2023

There has been a 25% increase in sexual offence alleged offender incidents involving adult male offenders and female victims.
- This was driven by increases in offending against former partners, and victims aged 25 and older.

Offender and victim sex dynamics, incidents year ending 31 March 2024