HCHR- This report examines the status of the violations of women and girls’ rights in the UK from a human rights perspective. In 2022, the UN human rights expert criticized England’s protective measures against violence against all classes of women and girls. Despite the rise in domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdown, official statistics from the criminal justice system show a further decline in arrests and convictions of suspects accused of sexual assault or domestic abuse during 2020 and 2021.
A report by Rape Crisis England and Wales reveals that one in four women in the UK has been raped or sexually assaulted as an adult, according to Rape Crisis. But conviction rates remain low, with just one in every 100 cases recorded by police in 2021 ending in a conviction. In 2022, it was revealed that survivors of sexual violence in England and Wales face the longest-ever wait for justice, with cases taking an average of nine months to complete.
Harassment and violence against women and girls are widespread across the UK and have worsened because of the coronavirus pandemic as a result of measures such as lockdowns and disruptions to support services, research shows. The Crime Survey for England and Wales year ending March 2022 estimated that 5.0% of adults aged 16 years and over (2.4 million) experienced domestic abuse in 2022.
England leads the four nations when it comes to the widest gender pay gaps in favor of men. Some groups of British women face more significant challenges and unfair disadvantages in achieving economic success. For example, In 2020, mothers of children under‑12 were over 3 percentage points more likely to have left employment than fathers of children under‑12.
If Western countries are ranked by life expectancy, the UK comes in 25th – as the world’s fifth-largest economy. Members of the Parliament and leading health experts have called it shocking, devastating, and unacceptable. Poverty research centers in England have also said that inequalities between the richest and poorest in England are morally and economically unacceptable, and their devastating impact on the most impoverished women is shown here clearly.
Moreover, There were approximately 76,226 males and almost 3,216 females in prisons in England and Wales in 2022. Since 1900, the year with the highest number of prisoners was 2012, when there were over 86,600 people imprisoned. Studies show pregnant women are incarcerated for non-violent offenses, sometimes very close to their babies’ due dates. Many sentences are short enough to warrant a community sentence but long enough to destroy a woman’s life and expose her and her unborn baby to the risks of the prison system.
Regarding to homelessness, it is importatnt to consider that London continues to suffer the highest homelessness rates in the country – especially in terms of the hidden homelessness identified through temporary accommodation figures. Deep-rooted inequalities mean women are more vulnerable to domestic violence and poverty than men. As a result, they are likely to struggle to find housing that meets their needs. Domestic abuse is one of the leading causes of homelessness in the UK – for women, it is the root cause of homelessness.
To read the detailed report, click here.