Almost 30% of people abused as children, England and Wales data shows

[IwantToRetire]

ONS data, which includes emotional, physical and sexual abuse as well as neglect, suggests 13.6 million people affected

Nearly a third of women in England and Wales were abused as a child, along with just over a quarter of men, according to new figures which for the first time include emotional, physical or sexual abuse as well as neglect.

The data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates 31.5% of women and 26.4% of men experienced some form of abuse as a child, a total of 13.6 million – almost three in 10 – people.
Emotional abuse was the most commonly experienced type of childhood abuse among adults (22.7%), followed by physical abuse (16.5%), sexual abuse (9.1%) and neglect (7.6%).

Article https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/05/almost-3-in-10-people-in-england-and-wales-abused-as-children-data-shows

I think it must be this report.

Abuse during childhood in England and Wales: March 2024
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/abuseduringchildhoodinenglandandwales/march2024

Very sad reading, but honestly? I'm not surprised unfortunately.

Like you I wasn't shocked but it did make me think about what that means in any group of children. Say at a nursery or a class in a school.

For all the children living with this at the time and for years to come

But what is emotional abuse and who gets to call it that?

According to the questionnaire, "said things that make you feel bad about yourself" counts as emotional abuse. think that's a little too broad, though I appreciate it would be difficult to word this important question.

Also, a stranger exposing himself counts as sexual abuse, - which it is, or course - but it's not what is normally what we think of when someone says sexual abuse.

I wonder how they conducted their research? No one has ever asked me if I were abused in childhood, so obviously my experience is not reflected in their data.

Its statistics based. They never ask absolutely everyone.

Thanks for your answer. It does seem like it is way too broad to be of much use