~71,500
Approximate rape offences in year ending March 2025, inferred from rape accounting for 34.2% of 209,079 police-recorded sexual offences.
British Girls
A factual overview of sexual violence, child sexual exploitation, reporting gaps, and institutional failure affecting girls and young women in the UK. This page is based on official statistics and support services, not on slogans, abuse, or scapegoating.
The Picture Now
Key figures for the latest full reporting year
These figures come from the latest official releases for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Where a figure is marked as approximate, it is inferred directly from official totals.
2.8%
Proportion of rape offences in England and Wales assigned a charge or summons outcome in year ending March 2025.
2,897
Recorded rapes and attempted rapes in 2024-25, up 15% on the previous year.
1,218
Rape offences recorded in 2024-25. Sexual offences overall reached 4,244.
Adults And Reporting
What the survey says
- Around 900,000 adults in England and Wales experienced sexual assault in the last year in the year ending March 2025 survey.
- That included around 739,000 female victims.
- For victims of rape or assault by penetration since the age of 16, 54.7% said the perpetrator was a partner or ex-partner.
- Only around 14.7% reported the most recent incident to police.
How To Read The Rise
Why the recorded trend climbed so sharply
Official sources say the rise in police-recorded sexual offences is real and serious, but not straightforward to interpret. The increase reflects a mix of:
- better police recording after repeated criticism of under-recording
- greater willingness by victims and survivors to report
- counting-rule and legal changes, including new sexual offences
- continuing harm both offline and online
Children And Safeguarding
The problem is bigger than the justice system sees
The latest national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation says the country still lacks good enough data and a consistent enough system to measure the full scale of the harm.
500,000
Children a year are likely to experience child sexual abuse of any kind, according to the 2026 national audit.
100,000+
Child sexual abuse and exploitation offences were recorded in 2024, with the audit warning that this still understates the real scale.
17,100
Estimated contact offences flagged by police as child sexual exploitation in the year to March 2024.
~700
Recorded offences identified in a newer police dataset for 2023, though the audit says this is unlikely to reflect the true scale.
Institutional Failure
Children were failed for years
The Rotherham inquiry estimated that around 1,400 children were sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013. The newer national audit says the same themes keep recurring across the country: weak information sharing, poor leadership, patchy data, and a system that too often left victims unheard.
The message from official reviews is blunt: denial, delay, and fragmented safeguarding have repeatedly protected institutions better than they protected girls.
Data Gaps Matter
Bad data creates bad arguments
The 2026 national audit says the country still lacks reliable national data on the scale and characteristics of group-based child sexual exploitation, including incomplete ethnicity data. That matters because serious safeguarding policy needs evidence, not myths.
Specific local inquiries must be faced honestly. But broad national claims about whole ethnic or religious groups are not a substitute for proper evidence, and they do not help girls who need protection now.
What Should Change
A serious response should focus on protection and justice
The problem is not solved by shouting louder. It is reduced by building a system that spots risk early, protects children fast, supports survivors properly, and is capable of prosecuting offenders.
Protect girls earlier
Strengthen safeguarding in schools, care settings, transport, hotels, and online spaces where exploitation starts.
Improve data and accountability
Record exploitation consistently, share intelligence across agencies, and publish clearer national evidence.
Speed up justice
Rape investigations and court processes take too long. Survivors need a system that does not exhaust them before trial.
Challenge misogyny
Violence against women and girls is rooted in power, coercion, and dehumanisation. Prevention has to address that directly.
Support
If someone needs help right now
A public page should not stop at outrage. It should also point people toward safety, advice, and survivor support.
Rape Crisis England & Wales
Free 24/7 support line for anyone affected by rape, sexual assault, abuse or harassment.
Visit Rape CrisisChildline
Free confidential support for children and young people in the UK, online or by phone.
Visit ChildlineOfficial material used for this page
- ONS: Sexual offences in England and Wales overview, year ending March 2025
- Home Office: Crime outcomes in England and Wales 2024 to 2025
- Scottish Government: Recorded Crime in Scotland 2024-25, sexual crimes
- NISRA: Police recorded crime reaches second lowest level since 1998/99
- Home Office: National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
- Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council: Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham
- Rape Crisis England & Wales
- Childline
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