Domestic abuse in Bristol increased by more than five per cent in the last year – following a previous spike during lockdown. There were 11,093 reported incidents in the household across the city in 2021/22, up from 10,514 the previous 12 months, according to police data.
A report to be considered at a council meeting on Thursday, January 12, said the severity of abuse increased during the pandemic, with 64 domestic homicides in England and Wales from January to June 2020, but that the number of offences in Bristol had gone up since then. It said the problems were exacerbated because of a lack of local specialist staff, funding shortages and a lack of referrals of perpetrators to services that can help change their behaviour.
The 124-page needs-assessment report, conducted by Bristol City Council, includes a series of recommendations to tackle the scourge of abuse in the home. It said an estimated 67,150 Bristolians would experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, with 19,960 individual victims every year.
