Annexes

Annex 1: List of recommendations from this review

Based on our findings and engagement with users, we have concluded that some areas for improvement remain. We have set out four recommendations for ONS to take forward to improve the quality and value of these statistics.

We expect ONS to consider implementing our recommendations to enhance the quality and value of the statistics and strengthen the effectiveness of future user engagement activities.

Annex 2: ONS’ evaluation criteria

The following annex details each of ONS’s evaluation criteria and assessment of whether criteria have been met.

The new questions and proposed outputs meet the priority requirements of users

Criteria met: User engagement throughout redevelopment ensured that requirements were documented, assessed and prioritised, and feedback was continuously sought to ensure that these were being met. User feedback about the move to the new questions is positive, and indicated that the proposed outputs will meet the majority of user requirements.

The majority of users are satisfied with the outputs produced from the new questions

Criteria partially met: The findings from the winter 2024/25 user survey showed that 45.5% of respondents were “very satisfied” or “quite satisfied” with the trial outputs. ONS is seeking to improve on this, but mentioned that when speaking one to one with users, they expressed being largely satisfied with the new questions.

Data collected from the new questions can produce prevalence estimates and breakdowns at the same level of detail as is currently produced

Criteria met: The trial output tables published in December 2024 included prevalence estimates for more abuse types than are available from the existing questions. The new questions also provide the opportunity to publish more-detailed breakdowns. ONS plans to continue developing these outputs based on user need.

Methods for producing abuse profiles have been tested and shared with users

Criteria not currently met: ONS is currently exploring a cluster analysis approach to derive abuse profiles alongside hierarchical methods to determine the optimum number of clusters. While ONS is currently unable to share any results while it explores methods, it aims to share more information in its annual domestic abuse compendium later in 2025.

The new questions accurately measure lived experiences of victims of domestic abuse

Partially met: In the latest user survey, of the 13 responses to the statement “The new domestic abuse questions accurately capture the lived experiences of domestic abuse victims”, 53.8% of people either “agreed” or “strongly agreed”; 7.7% “neither agreed or disagreed”; and 38.5% “disagreed” or “strongly disagreed”. This demonstrates that some users may not be completely satisfied with the contents of the new questions, though the majority (76.9%) want the questions to be included permanently on the survey.

ONS continues to engage with users and is monitoring this matter.

The new questions do not lead to a significant increase in non-response rates

Criteria met: Although the non-response rates for the new questions are higher, the increase was expected. And while the non-response rates have almost doubled in some cases, the overall non-response rate for the new questions remains relatively small.

The new questions do not lead to a significant increase in non-response bias

Criteria met: Analysis from ONS generally showed that the non-response rates in the new questions had a slightly higher rate than the existing questions. However, the rates remained low, and there were no specific characteristics that did not follow this trend.

The new questions do not negatively affect the timeliness and punctuality of our domestic abuse publications

Partially met: When producing the trial outputs, ONS found that the time taken for production was similar to the time taken to produce the existing outputs. Because of the greater number of estimates being produced, marginally more resource will be required. The new domestic abuse profiles are still under development; therefore, there is uncertainty about how they will impact on timeliness.

The comparability between estimates produced using the new questions and the existing time series is clear to users

Criteria met: The latest user survey asked users to what extent they agree with the following statement: “It is clear why the estimates produced using the existing questions and estimates produced using the new questions are not comparable.”

Of the respondents, 76.9% “strongly agreed” or “agreed” with the statement.

Estimates produced using the new questions closely align with government definitions of domestic abuse, for example the Serious Crime Act 2015 and Domestic Abuse Act 2021, and any differences are clear to users

Partially met: The Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance, provided alongside the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, lists 82 example abusive behaviours. The new questions align or partially align with 48 (58.5%).

Home Office’s Controlling or coercive behaviour: statutory guidance framework, which accompanies the definition provided in the Serious Crime Act 2015, provides 38 examples of behaviours within the range of controlling or coercive behaviour. In all, 23 (60.5%) of these behaviours aligned with the new questions.

Estimates produced using the new questions are presented in a format that is easily available and clear to users

Criteria met: In the latest user survey, ONS asked users how easy they found it to access the trial outputs. Of those, 81.8% (around four in five users) found it “very easy” or “quite easy” to access them, while the remaining 18.2% found it “neither easy nor difficult”.

Most users (72.7%) found it “very easy” or “quite easy” to interpret the data presented in the trial outputs, with 18.2% finding it “neither easy nor difficult” and 9.1% finding it “difficult” (Figure 12).

Supporting information about the changes to the questions, and estimates produced using them, is easily available and clear to users

Criteria met: ONS asked users to what extent they agreed with the following statement:

“Supporting information about the changes to the questions and estimates is easily available and clear.”

The majority of respondents (61.5%) either “strongly agreed” or “agreed” with this statement; 15.4% “neither agreed nor disagreed”; and 23.1% “disagreed” or “strongly disagreed”.

Annex 3: Timeline of the redevelopment process

November 2015–March 2017

Questions to measure controlling or coercive behaviour were developed through the ONS Domestic Abuse Statistics Steering Group.

April 2017

ONS introduced a split-sample experiment on the CSEW to assess whether the controlling and coercive behaviour questions were fit for purpose.

April 2019

ONS published an analysis of the controlling or coercive behaviour questions showing uncertainty in whether they adequately capture victims of the offence. ONS concluded that the questions require further development and removed the controlling and coercive behaviour questions from the survey.

Summer 2020

A user survey was conducted to better understand user needs from the statistics.

December 2020–June 2021

A review and mapping exercise of the questions asked on domestic abuse in the CSEW was undertaken by a consortium led by the University of Bristol, also involving the College of Policing, Women’s Aid and Men’s Advice Line.

November 2021

ONS awarded a research contract to redevelop the domestic abuse statistics to a consortium led by the Centre for Gender and Violence Research at the University of Bristol. This also involved the College of Policing, Women’s Aid Federation of England, Men’s Advice Line, IMKAAN and Welsh Women’s Aid.

November 2021

ONS published its Redevelopment of domestic abuse statistics: research update November 2021

2022–early 2023

ONS undertook further work on the domestic abuse questions based on recommendations from University of Bristol, including qualitative testing with victims.

November 2022

ONS published its Redevelopment of domestic abuse statistics: research update November 2022.

April 2023–March 2025

New domestic abuse questions were introduced into the CSEW on a split-sample basis.

November 2023

ONS published its Redevelopment of domestic abuse statistics: research update November 2023. This update breaks down ONS’s evaluation criteria for the new questions.

December 2024

ONS published the trial outputs and invited feedback from users as part of the Redevelopment of domestic abuse statistics: research update December 2024.

April 2025

The new questions were introduced into the CSEW on a permanent basis.

May 2025

ONS published its Redevelopment of domestic abuse statistics: research update May 2025 and its evaluation of the new domestic abuse questions.

Annex 4: ONS’ User engagement throughout the redevelopment process

Summer 2020

ONS carried out a user survey to understand more about how users of the CSEW domestic abuse statistics made use of the data.

November 2020

ONS awarded a research contract to a consortium led by the University of Bristol also involving the College of Policing, Women’s Aid and Men’s Advice Line. The work took place between December 2020 and the end of June 2021.

Stakeholder meeting, March 2021

An online meeting was held with 18 core stakeholders. The aim of the meeting was to review the early findings on the current headline measure of domestic abuse, measuring the frequency of acts of abuse, measuring coercive and controlling behaviour, and measuring impact.

Stakeholder event, October 2021

An online stakeholder event was held. The event was open to anyone with an interest in statistics on domestic abuse. During the event, ONS provided an update, on the consortium’s recommendations, responded to questions about the research and their future plans for the domestic abuse statistics, and addressed concerns raised by users..

November 2021

ONS awarded a research contract to redevelop the domestic abuse statistics to a consortium led by the Centre for Gender and Violence Research at the University of Bristol, which also involved the College of Policing, Women’s Aid Federation of England, Men’s Advice Line, IMKAAN and Welsh Women’s Aid.

Stakeholder feedback, February 2022

Feedback was gathered from core stakeholders on an initial set of draft survey questions which had been developed by the consortium.

Office for Statistics Regulation review, April 2023

We praised ONS’s extensive user engagement when developing the questions.

One-to-one meetings with users, April 2023–onwards

ONS met with users on a one-to-one basis to discuss users’ requirements in more detail and answer any questions about the new questions.

Winter 2024/25 survey

ONS asked for feedback on the content of the new questions, the new estimates, the methodology used to produce the new estimates and the supporting information around the estimates and the trial outputs. Fourteen users responded.

One-to-one meetings with stakeholders, January 2025–July 2025

Meetings were solely focussed on discussing the new domestic abuse questions.

Stakeholder event, June 2025

70+ stakeholders were invited to a webinar on the domestic abuse statistics.