Thousands of babies witness domestic abuse each year and suffer ‘life-altering’ trauma, data reveals

Exclusive: Data showing thousands of babies affected by domestic abuse is ‘tip of the iceberg’, experts warn

Nearly 130,000 babies were present at or were affected by an incident of domestic abuse in the past three years, new data from England’s police forces shows.

Figures from police forces across the country show that thousands of babies will have witnessed the abuse first hand.

Research based on the data, which was carried out by the charity For Baby’s Sake, estimated that as many as 187,750 infants are present at domestic abuse police callouts each year in England.

Experts said the trauma that these children are experiencing “can be life altering” and said the data was the “tip of the iceberg”.

The early-years charity received freedom of information data (FOI) from 15 police forces, which combined serve around a third of England’s population. Figures for 2021 to 2024 so far show that 128,006 children aged up to two were either present or affected by a domestic abuse incident.

Figures from Hertfordshire police show that 7,290 babies or toddlers “witnessed or were present” at an incident of domestic abuse from 2021 to 2023. This was 13 per cent of all domestic abuse incidents recorded by the force.

Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, said the impact of witnessing these incidents ‘can be life altering’. (Getty)

In Cumbria, 936 babies of this age witnessed or were assaulted during an incident out of 15,868 total recorded domestic abuse callouts in the past three years.

Leicestershire police force recorded a total of 80,594 domestic abuse incidents. Seven per cent (5,571) of these involved a baby aged up to two, data shows. The force also recorded 182 incidents involving a pregnant woman.

The FOI data suggests that 13 per cent of domestic abuse incidents involve an infant being present. Based on an average of 1.44 million incidents annually, this means more than 187,000 affected babies, the charity said.

Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, said the impact of witnessing these “can be life altering”.

She added: “Too many babies, children and young people are experiencing the trauma of domestic abuse at a young age. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 established children as victims of domestic abuse in their own right, but three years on, this is not translating into practice.

“All babies, children and young people deserve a domestic abuse response that meets their specific needs, alongside support for the non-abusive parent.”

Lauren Seager-Smith, CEO of The For Baby’s Sake Trust, said: “We must unite to address this national emergency, ensuring that help and support is available for every family impacted by domestic abuse.

“Although Labour’s commitment to halving violence against women and girls is commendable, we urge government to take a whole-family approach that recognises the impact on babies and children.

“This data is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of babies’ experience of domestic abuse.”

Vicky Nevin, policy manager at children’s charity NSPCC, said the government should invest more in joined-up early years services in local communities so that every family knows where to get help before domestic abuse escalates.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The scale of domestic abuse suffered by women and children in this country is a national emergency. It is this government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls within 10 years.

“The law explicitly recognises children as victims in their own right and we will continue to work with agencies and organisations, including the domestic abuse commissioner, to ensure they own their obligations.”