Domestic violence and abuse is a growing concern in our society. Concerns have been raised by charities, police forces and industry professionals about an increase in domestic violence during Euro 2024.
We set out to research whether this could be an issue.
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How We Conducted Our Research
The 2024 Euros is underway as England fans gear up for a summer of support for the team. But sadly, a rise in domestic abuse is expected to come along with it.
Police forces across England have vowed to ‘Give Domestic Abuse the red card’ as the National Police Chief’s Councils warns of an anticipated rise in instances during this year’s European Football Championships.
Data from the National Centre for Domestic Violence revealed that incidents involving domestic abuse increased by 26% when England play and 38% when England lose.
The data also shows that domestic abuse increases by 11% the day after England have played dependent on the result.
Legal Expert has investigated levels of domestic violence in the past year in every policing area of the UK – including during the Qatar World Cup in November/December 2022 – and will evaluate further figures when then the Euro’s reaches completion.
“It is an incredibly sad reality that football tournaments mean an increased risk of domestic abuse for many victims across the UK.
“Football doesn’t cause abuse but we’ve seen, over many years, offending associated with alcohol consumption, violence and other destructive behaviours exhibited by a small number of fans and the intense emotional highs and lows of a tournament, all of which can act as a catalyst for pre-existing abuse,” says Louisa Rolfe, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Domestic Abuse.
Legal Expert UK submitted Freedom of Information Requests to every UK police force to find out how many domestic abuse crimes had been reported each month between Nov 2022-Oct 2023.
We also asked for the gender of the victims, finding that the majority were female but male victim figures rose in some police force areas.
Women’s Aid Chief Executive, Farah Nazeer says: “In many ways, high-profile football competitions are a unique opportunity for us to come together and feel real unity and camaraderie as we root for our team to win. However, for those women and children living with domestic abuse, major championships can leave them vulnerable to existing abuse becoming more severe and frequent.
“It is a sad reality that 1 in 4 women will experience domestic abuse during their lifetime and it is vital that we, across society, are aware of when these dangers might increase and be on hand to help survivors escape and hold perpetrators accountable.”
Results below are for those police figures where Domestic Abuse Crimes where at their heighest during the Qatar World Cup compared with the rest of the year.
The Results Of Our Research
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire Domestic Abuse
Domestic abuse crimes recorded by Cambridgeshire Police last year peaked during the Qatar World Cup.
According to Cambridgeshire Constabulary, 28 domestic abuse crimes were recorded by the force every day on average last year.
Some 10,309 cases were logged in total – which accounted for 16% of all crimes recorded across the county.
The highest recorded domestic abuse crimes in Cambridgeshire last year were in December 2022 – which is when the Qatar World Cup was underway.
A total of 970 domestic abuse crimes were reported to Cambridgeshire Constabulary during that month, the highest figures between Nov 2022-Nov 2023.
Of the 10,309 domestic abuse crimes in Cambridgeshire last year, 68% of victims were female and 25% were males, the remaining 7% of victims had a different gender definition or the gender was unknown, according to Cambridgeshire Police.
Figures broken down by month
Nov 22 – 864
Dec 22 – 970
Jan 23 – 904
Feb 23 – 819
Mar 23 – 807
Apr 23 – 829
May 23 – 929
Jun 23 – 783
Jul 23 – 894
Aug 23 – 852
Sep 23 – 773
Oct 23 – 875
Merseyside
Merseyside Domestic Abuse
84 domestic abuse crimes were recorded by Merseyside Police every day on average last year.
Some 30,494 cases were logged in total – which accounted for 19% of all crimes recorded across the county.
The highest recorded domestic abuse crimes in Merseyside last year were in November and December 2022 – which is when the Qatar World Cup was underway.
The months during the Qatar World Cup saw a surge in domestic abuse crimes in Merseyside with November and December 2022 recording the highest figures of the year.
November 2022 saw an eye-watering 2,732 domestic abuse crimes reported to Merseyside Police as well as a further 2,789 in December.
Of the 30,494 domestic abuse crimes in Merseyside last year, 73% of victims were female and 25% were male, while 2% of victims had a different gender definition or the gender was unknown, according to Merseyside Police.
Figures broken down by month
Nov 22 – 2,732
Dec 22 – 2,789
Jan 23 – 2,721
Feb 23 – 2,410
Mar 23 – 2,668
Apr 23 – 2,577
May 23 – 2,612
Jun 23 – 2,630
Jul 23 – 2,481
Aug 23 – 2,545
Sep 23 – 2,303
Oct 23 – 2,026
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire Domestic Abuse
An average of 21 domestic abuse crimes were recorded by West Yorkshire Police every day last year, with a total of 7,738 cases logged in total.
The highest recorded domestic abuse crime figures in West Yorkshire between 2022/23 were in December 2022 – which is when the Qatar World Cup was underway.
During the Qatar World Cup there was a surge in domestic abuse crimes in North Yorkshire, with December 2022 recording the highest figures of the year.
A total of 755 domestic abuse crimes were recorded by North Yorkshire that month – that’s 17% above the average for that year.
Of the 7,738 domestic abuse crimes in North Yorkshire last year, 72% of victims were female and 28% were male.
Figures broken down by month
Nov 22 – 637
Dec 22 – 755
Jan 23 – 667
Feb 23 – 585
Mar 23 – 702
Apr 23 – 614
May 23 – 673
Jun 23 – 603
Jul 23 – 698
Aug 23 – 616
Sep 23 – 594
Oct 23 – 594
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire Domestic Abuse
An average of 32 domestic abuse crimes were recorded by Hertfordshire Police every day last year.
Some 11,549 incidents were logged in total – which accounted for 15% of all crimes recorded across the county.
The highest recorded domestic abuse crime figures in Hertfordshire between 2022/23 were in December 2022 – which is when the Qatar World Cup was underway.
During the Qatar World Cup there was a surge in domestic abuse crimes in Hertfordshire, with December 2022 recording the highest figures of the year of 1,081.
Of the 11,549 domestic abuse crimes in Hertfordshire last year, 71% of victims were female and 26% were male.
Figures broken down by month
Nov 22 – 899
Dec 22 – 1,081
Jan 23 – 1,020
Feb 23 – 948
Mar 23 – 996
Apr 23 – 947
May 23 – 1,005
Jun 23 – 1,011
Jul 23 – 957
Aug 23 – 896
Sep 23 – 895
Oct 23 – 894
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire Domestic Abuse
An average of 28 domestic abuse crimes were recorded by Northamptonshire Police every day last year.
Some 10,253 cases were logged in total – which accounted for 17% of all crimes recorded across the county.
The highest recorded domestic abuse crimes in Northamptonshire last year were in November 2022 – which is when the Qatar World Cup was underway.
The month during the Qatar World Cup saw a surge in domestic abuse crimes in Northamptonshire with November 2022 recording the highest figures of the year, 945.
Of the 10,253 domestic abuse crimes in Northamptonshire last year, 70% of victims were female and 23% were male, while 7% of victims had a different gender definition or the gender was unknown, according to Northamptonshire Police.
Figures broken down by month
Nov 22 – 945
Dec 22 – 887
Jan 23 – 925
Feb 23 – 861
Mar 23 – 895
Apr 23 – 872
May 23 – 816
Jun 23 – 845
Jul 23 – 876
Aug 23 – 797
Sep 23 – 754
Oct 23 – 780
Suffolk
Suffolk Domestic Abuse
An average of 22 domestic abuse crimes were recorded by Suffolk Police every day last year.
Some 7,931 cases were logged in total – which accounted for 16% of all crimes recorded across the county.
The highest recorded domestic abuse crimes in Suffolk last year were in December 2022 – which is when the Qatar World Cup was underway.
The month during the Qatar World Cup saw a surge in domestic abuse crimes in Suffolk with December 2022 recording the highest figures of the year, 726.
Of the 7,931 domestic abuse crimes in Suffolk last year, 70% of victims were female and 26% were male, while 3% of victims had a different gender definition or the gender was unknown, according to Suffolk Police.
Figures broken down by month
Nov 22 – 690
Dec 22 – 726
Jan 23 – 699
Feb 23 – 635
Mar 23 – 701
Apr 23 – 664
May 23 – 625
Jun 23 – 646
Jul 23 – 651
Aug 23 – 617
Sep 23 – 654
Oct 23 – 623
Warwickshire
Warwickshire Domestic Abuse
An average of18 domestic abuse crimes were recorded by Suffolk Police every day last year.
Some 6,706 cases were logged in total – which accounted for 17% of all crimes recorded across the county.
The highest recorded domestic abuse crimes in Warwickshire last year were in December 2022 – which is when the Qatar World Cup was underway.
The month during the Qatar World Cup saw a surge in domestic abuse crimes in Warwickshire with December 2022 recording the highest figures of the year, 604.
Of the 6,706 domestic abuse crimes in Warwickshire last year, 70% of victims were female and 25% were male, while 3% of victims had a different gender definition or the gender was unknown, according to Warwickshire Police.
Figures broken down by month
Nov 22 – 558
Dec 22 – 604
Jan 23 – 499
Feb 23 – 555
Mar 23 – 587
Apr 23 – 579
May 23 – 571
Jun 23 – 551
Jul 23 – 586
Aug 23 – 558
Sep 23 – 520
Oct 23 – 538
