England and Wales have the highest number of violent sex crimes in Europe, according to new figures.
Statistics show that the two British countries accounted for 64,500 of the 215,000 crimes recorded by the police across the European Union in 2015.
Some 35,800, or 55 per cent, of the 64,500 violent sex crimes in England and Wales were rape, with Germany coming second with 34,300 crimes.
The figures come on the same day that an Office of National Statistics (ONS) report found that 1.1 million domestic abuse-related incidents were reported to police by men and women in the year ending March 2017.
The number of complaints to police is much lower than the 1.9million recorded in a larger-scale crime survey, which included many people who did not report their abuse to authorities.
Some 35,800, or 55 per cent, of the 64,500 violent sex crimes in England and Wales were rape, with Germany coming second with 34,300 crimes (stock)
The figures are so high partly because the report defines domestic abuse as ‘any incident of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse’ rather than specific attacks.
Despite the number of male victims falling in the last five years, the statistics show male victims now make up a higher percentage of overall victims than in recent years.
The report states: ‘The difference between the estimated number of male and female victims (522,000) is at its lowest compared with previous years.’
The report comprises figures taken from the police, the Government and victim support groups, as well as large-scale crime surveys.
But many victims do not see justice, and there were just 46 arrests per 100 domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by 39 police forces last year, the report said.
The number of male victims of domestic abuse is as close to the number of female victims as it has been in years after stats revealed more than 700,000 reported domestic abuse last year
Police made 93,590 prosecutions for domestic abuse in the year ending March 2017, of which 76% – around 71,000 – secured a conviction.
The figures also show how many people were killed in family or domestic disputes; 319 women and 135 men.
Most of the women killed were attacked by a male partner or ex, whereas the men who died were killed by a male partner or a love rival.
The data also reveals the ages of the victims, with around one in 10 women aged 16 to 19 saying they had been victims.
The figures remained high for women aged 20 to 24, with 9.6% reporting abuse.
Katie Ghose, chief executive of domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid, said ONS data cannot currently offer the ‘full picture’.
She said: ‘Domestic abuse by its very nature, hidden behind closed doors, is hard to capture in statistics alone.
‘Survivors often do not involve official bodies as it takes great courage to report abuse to the police; some women will never speak out because they don’t know if they will be believed, are not given the space to make the call or fear the repercussions if they do report the perpetrator to the police.’
Reports can encompass emotional and financial abuse as well as sexual abuse and violence.
Durham, Cleveland, Gwent, South Wales and London were among the police areas which reported the most domestic abuse incidents and crimes per 1,000 people last year.
The fewest combined incidents and crimes were recorded in Cheshire, Dyfed-Powys, Surrey, North Yorkshire and Thames Valley.
The stats show that older men and younger women are most likely to be victims of abuse