TV licence evasion accounts for one in THREE women’s criminal convictions, new figures reveal

Nearly a third of criminal convictions of women are for evading the TV licence fee, according to government figures.

This has led to claims that the BBC may be responsible for ‘indirect gender discrimination’.

Ministry of Justice figures show the likelihood of women being convicted over non-payment of the licence was almost ten times more than men.

The Government is still looking at plans to decriminalise TV licence evasion, though there is speculation that enthusiasm for doing this is waning. 

The 84,000 offences by women for licence fee evasion, represent 74 per cent of the total 114,000 convictions for this type of offence in 2019. 

This figure was a 3 per cent increase on 2015.

Victims’ commissioner Dame Vera Baird told The Daily Telegraph: ‘It is of serious concern that so many women are prosecuted for TV licence evasion. 

‘This report points to women who happen to be the person answering the door becoming the defendant.

‘It would be surprising if that were not indirect gender discrimination since women are far likelier, overall, than men to be at home during the day.’ 

Ministry of Justice figures show the likelihood of women being convicted over non-payment of the licence was almost ten times more than men (file photo)

Kate Paradine, the chief executive of Women in Prison said: ‘Debt-related issues should not be criminalised. The 30 per cent figure shows how many women are criminalised for extraordinarily minor so-called offences.

‘Even when you get down to all convictions and look at women in prison and arrests, the majority are there for very low level offences.’