The top 3 VAWG Offences in Bexley for 2023 and 2024 have remained the same, with Violence Against the Person being the top offence, Public Order Offences* as second, and Sexual Offences** as third.

*Public Order Offences encompass a range of behaviours intended to disrupt public peace, including Riot, Affray, Violent Disorder, and Threatening or Abusive Language, among others.

**Sexual offences include Rape, Sexual Assault, Assault by Penetration, Disclosing Private Sexual Images without Consent and others.

This data represents Domestic Abuse offences MPS data recorded in 2024. The data sources used are from the Metropolitan Police Service Crime Data Dashboard & Crime data provided to Local Authorities via ‘BOX.’ The data therefore looks different to the VAWG offence information collected by MPS Connect.

Source: Metropolitan Police Service Crime Data Dashboard & Crime data

Please note that the data cannot be compared for 2023 and 2024 due to the changes to recording of Domestic Abuse flags in the MPS new computer system CONNECT (implemented in February 2024).

For 2024, the total number of Domestic Abuse Offences recorded by the MPS was 2321. The highest number of offences came under Violence Against the Person, followed by Arson and Criminal Damage and Public Order Offences third.

Source: Metropolitan Police Service Crime Data Dashboard & Crime data

Where “London” figures are presented as benchmark data, this refers to crimes recorded by the Metropolitan Police Service that fall within the 32 London Boroughs (City of London not included).

Police-recorded crime gives a picture of the crime occurring in an area. However, it is reliant on (a) persons reporting the crime in the first instance and (b) the recording practices of the local Police Force. As such, Police-recorded crime provides a measure of the crime-related demand on Police, but not necessarily a full picture of crime.

In 2024, there was a total of 2,321 Domestic Abuse Offences in Bexley, ranking us 17th place with a rate of 91.62 compared to other London Boroughs.

This data represents Sexual Offences MPS data recorded in 2024 and 2023.

Source: Metropolitan Police Service Crime Data Dashboard & Crime data

Sexual Offences are split into two sub-categories: 1) Rape, and 2) Other Sexual Offences. Other Sexual Offences include everything else from Exposure and Voyeurism to Touching, including over clothes, and offences that Cause or Incite Sexual Activity, those linked to prostitution, spiking, incest, etc.

An increase in Sexual Offences in Bexley of 5.51%, from 490 in 2023 to 517 in 2024. This is a smaller increase compared to an increase of 9.75% for London overall. Bexley saw a rise of 13.73% for Other Sexual Offences (from 306 in 2023 to 348 in 2024) and a reduction of 8.15% in Rape Offences (from 184 in 2023 to 169 in 2024).

Source: Metropolitan Police Service Crime Data Dashboard & Crime data

Bexley has moved from 6th in 2023 (rate of 1.94) to 8th in 2024 (rate of 2.04) compared to other London Boroughs.

Violence Against the Person can include violence targeted because of gender. Sub-categories of this depend on the outcome; 1) Without Injury, 2) With Injury, and 3) Homicide.

Violence with Injury includes any kind of assault where physical injury occurs. Violence without Injury includes Common Assault, Threats to Kill, Stalking and Harassment, Malicious Communications, etc.

NB: Street Level Harassment, such as calling out and beeping etc will likely be recorded as Public Order offences rather than Assault without Injury and are therefore not reflected in this data.

Source: Metropolitan Police Service Crime Data Dashboard & Crime data

The overall number Violence Against the Person offences in Bexley had decreased by 11.7% from 5,859 offences in 2023 to 5,173 offences in 2024. This decrease was in line with the fall in Violence Against the Person offences across London over the past two years 2023 / 2024 (4.41% decrease).

Murder and Manslaughter are in the Homicide category. In Bexley, there had been a decrease in Homicide in 2024 compared to 2023, though numbers are low in both years. Additionally, there was a decrease in Violence without Injury and Violence with Injury in 2024 in comparison to 2023.

Source: Metropolitan Police Service Crime Data Dashboard & Crime data

Bexley’s position in London for safety in relation to Violence Against the Person has moved from 10 place in 2023 to 7 in 2024. This shift in position reflects the 11.7% decrease of Violence Against the Person offences in Bexley from 2023 to 2024.

Source: Metropolitan Police Data (CONNECT)

In 2023, VAWG offences were highest in the following three wards – Belvedere, Slade Green & Northend and Bexleyheath.

However, 2024 saw an emergence of Thamesmead East as second highest ward for VAWG offences, with Slade Green & Northend and Bexleyheath remaining in the top three wards. The wards that have the least number of VAWG offences has remained similar over 2024 and 2023 – with Longlands remaining at the bottom of the list, followed by Blendon & Penhill, St Mary’s & St James and Blackfen & Lamorbey. In Bexley, Belvedere has the largest population of residents and Longlands has the lowest.

Source: Metropolitan Police Data (CONNECT)

In 2024, the proportion of VAWG offences resulting in a positive outcome decreased slightly to 5.7% (167 offences). A "positive outcome" refers to a successful resolution of a crime where the police have been able to carry out the following actions: conviction, charge, arrest or remand. These outcomes can also include actions such as charges, cautions, community resolutions, summons, and postal requisitions. In 2023, 7% of the total recorded offences resulted in a positive outcome.

However, the majority of VAWG offences for both 2024 and 2023 did not lead to a positive result, primarily due to victims withdrawing their statements or choosing not to support further police action. Evidential difficulties were the second most common barrier to achieving a positive outcome, followed by cases where no suspect was identified.

Source: Metropolitan Police Data (CONNECT)

In 2024, individuals aged 18 to 24 accounted for 14.4% of recorded VAWG offences in Bexley, making this the most affected age group. The subsequent age brackets 25 to 29, 30 to 34, and 35 to 39 also represented significant proportions of VAWG victims. This marks a shift from 2023, where the 30 to 34 age group had the highest number of victims, followed by those aged 35 to 39 and 18 to 24.

This local trend aligns with broader patterns observed across England and Wales, where younger women are disproportionately affected by VAWG offences.

Source: Metropolitan Police Data (CONNECT)

Data from 2023 and 2024, showed that White residents made up the majority of victims of VAWG offences in Bexley.

This is reflective of the borough’s population, where 71.9% of residents identified as White. 28.1% of residents are from an Ethnic Minority background (excluding White Minorities). Including White Minorities, 35.6% of residents are from an Ethnic Minority background. It should be noted that the north of the borough, which as we saw has the highest rate of VAWG offences, has a larger ethnic minority population - Thamesmead East, Belvedere and Slade Green and North End wards have the highest population of residents from ethnic minority backgrounds.

NB: Further demographic data for victims of VAWG including religion, sexuality and disability was not able to be analysed due to the number of unknown responses.

In January 2026, we conducted a VAWG survey with residents to understand the community and their concerns better. Below are the main outcomes.

NB: This survey does not capture the views of every Bexley resident but a sample therein who opted to respond. It therefore cannot be considered a completely accurate picture of local needs but is rather an indicator of such.

Respondents

This analysis outlines the demographic breakdown of survey respondents. In 2025, there were 92 respondents, increasing to 125 in 2026. Of the 2026 respondents, 103 identified as female, 17 as male, and 5 selected “prefer not to say.”

The typical respondent profile was a White British, heterosexual, 31–40‑year‑old cis woman with no disability and no religion. Representation was notably lower among male, non‑binary, LGBT+, ethnic minority, religious and disabled respondents.

Feelings of safety

In 2026, the average feelings of safety from violence against women and girls in Bexley, was 5.93, with 10 being a feeling of complete safety. This is a slight increase from 2025, which saw the average VAWG safety score as 5.51.

Experiences of VAWG – Direct Experiences

In total, 50.4% of respondents reported experiencing VAWG in one or more forms.

Respondents most commonly reported that the incident occurred at home, in a nightlife venue, or in a public space such as on public transport.

A significant proportion (78 respondents) said the perpetrator was known to them, including partners or ex‑partners, family members, colleagues, friends or other acquaintances.

The most frequently reported time of day for experiencing VAWG was the evening, followed by the afternoon.

This pattern demonstrates that VAWG affects both private and public spaces, people known as well as strangers. 

Direct Experiences of VAWG – Reporting to Police

Out of the 50.4% of respondents that had directly experienced VAWG, only 38.1% of them had reported this to the Police. The main reasons for not reporting to the Police, was feelings of shame or self-blame, a lack of trust/confidence in the criminal justice system, and lack of trust/ confidence in the Police and not knowing how the police could help.

These findings highlight that there are barriers to reporting, underscoring the need to increase awareness of reporting and improve the response received, based on this feedback. 

Experiences of VAWG – Witnesses

50.4% of respondents said they had witnessed VAWG, in one form or multiple.   

Respondents most commonly witnessed incidents in public spaces, on public transport, in nightlife venues, and in other public social settings.

The most frequently reported time of day for witnessing VAWG was the evening, followed by the afternoon.

These findings highlight how visible VAWG is within everyday public environments, reinforcing the need for community-level prevention, active bystander initiatives, and safer public spaces.

Witnesses of VAWG – Reporting to the Police

Out of the 50.4% of respondents that had witnessed VAWG, only 23.8% of them had reported this to the Police. The main reasons for not reporting included not knowing how the Police could help, and a lack of trust or confidence in both the Police and the wider criminal justice system.

This low reporting rate highlights barriers to bystander reporting and underscores the need for clearer public information and improved confidence in reporting.

Primary concerns and response needs - experiencing or witnessing

This outlines the priority concerns of our residents who have experienced and/or witnessed VAWG. The top three concerns were Domestic Abuse, Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment. This mirrors the crime offence rates, with domestic abuse consistently represents the largest proportion of VAWG incidents.

Response needs

The mechanisms residents viewed as most important for tackling VAWG remained broadly consistent across 2025 and 2026. Residents continued to prioritise increased public safety measures and education for perpetrators as the most effective responses. These were rated as more important than expanding reporting routes, providing additional education for vulnerable or at‑risk individuals, or improving training for professionals and support services.

This consistency suggests that residents see proactive, preventative approaches as the most impactful ways to address VAWG.

There has been a small increase in the number of Domestic Abuse incidents in Bexley during the year 2023 in comparison to 2022. This is expected and an ongoing result of coming out of lockdown and increased awareness.

Domestic Abuse Offences is a subcategory of Domestic Abuse Incidents and Domestic Abuse Violence with Injury is a further subcategory of Domestic Abuse Offences.

The overall rate of Domestic Abuse has increased in Bexley from 161.19 per 10,000 population in 2022 to 166.06 in 2023. As a result of this increase, Bexley’s position in London for Domestic Abuse has changed from 13 to 16. 

The overall number of sexual offences in Bexley has decreased slightly from 511 offences in 2022 to 509 offences in 2023.

Sexual Offences are split into two sub-categories: 1) Rape, and 2) Other Sexual Offences. Other Sexual Offences include everything else from exposure and voyeurism to touching, including over clothes, and offences that cause or incite sexual activity, those linked to prostitution, spiking, incest, etc.

In Bexley we saw an increase in ‘Rape Offences’ and a decrease in ‘Other Sexual Offences’ in the year 2023 compared to 2022.

The crime rate for sexual offences has slightly decreased over the last year in comparison to 2022.

Comparatively with other London Boroughs, Bexley has moved up one place from seventh safest borough for sexual offences in London to sixth. 

Violence Against the Person can include violence targeted because of gender. Sub-categories of this depend on the outcome; 1) without injury, 2) with injury, and 3) homicide.

Violence with Injury includes any kind of assault where physical injury occurs. Violence without Injury includes Common Assault, Threats to Kill, Stalking and Harassment, Malicious Communications, etc.

NB: Street Level Harassment, such as calling out and beeping etc will likely be recorded and Public Order offences rather than assault without injury and are therefore not reflected in this data.

The overall number Violence Against the Person offences in Bexley has increased by 4.3% from 5,756 offences in 2022 to 6,005 offences in 2023. This increase is in line with the rise in Violence Against the Person offences across London over the past two years (4.5% increase).

Murder and Manslaughter are in the Homicide category. In Bexley, there has been an increase in Homicide in 2023 compared to 2022, though numbers are low in both years. There was an increase in Violence without Injury and Violence with Injury remained relatively stable.

Bexley’s position in London for safety in relation to Violence Against the Person has changed by one place from 9th in 2022 to 10th in 2023. As a result of the increase in crimes overall, as seen above, the crime rate too has increased overall. This seems to be in line with other London boroughs, with most seeing an increase in violent crime rate overall in 2023.

NB: Violence Against the Person may include non-VAWG related crimes within it.

This analysis demonstrates the breakdown of respondents to the survey. 184 people responded, 153 were female and 22 were non-female identifying. The typical respondent profile was a White British, heterosexual, 14-18 year old cis-woman, with no disability and of no religion. There were some male, non-binary, LGB+, ethnic minority, religious and disabled respondents, however numbers were low.

This demonstrates the average feelings of safety from violence against women and girls in Bexley is 5.89, with 10 being a feeling of complete safety. The map and ward list demonstrate how this ranges between areas, with the north and outskirts of the borough reporting lower safety from VAWG than the south and central of the borough.

47.8% of respondents said they had experienced VAWG, in one form or multiple, and 56.5% said they had witnessed VAWG, sometimes in addition to their own experiences of VAWG.

The majority of respondents said that they experienced or witnessed the VAWG incident in a public space, on public transport or in a public social venue. 56.2% of respondents also answered that the perpetrator was known to them in some way, either a partner or ex-partner, family member, work colleague, friend or other associate.  

This outlines the priority concerns our residents have – the majority being around domestic abuse, sexual and street-based offences, and less so around exploitation and honour-based offences. This also demonstrates that residents consider education of perpetrators and increased public safety tools the most important response to tackle VAWG, more so than accessibility of reporting and training for support services.

his following information summarises key data on VAWG across public perceptions, local Bexley data, offence trends, and national context for 2025.

Public Perceptions of Safety

In MOPAC’s latest Public Attitudes Survey, 57% of women said they felt safe walking alone after dark, compared with 78% of men. This 21‑percentage‑point gender gap has widened over the past year. Feelings of safety after dark have declined significantly for both men and women during the last 12 months, each dropping by 4%.

Safety levels were particularly low among several demographic groups of women; for example, fewer than half of disabled women (47%) reported feeling safe walking alone in their local area after dark.

The survey also explored experiences of unwanted attention or contact in public spaces such as parks, shops and public transport. 12% of women reported experiencing unwanted non‑sexual attention, compared with 5% of men. 9% of women reported unwanted sexual attention (compared with 1% of men), and 2% reported unwanted sexual contact (compared with 0% of men). Some groups were more likely to report these experiences in the last 12 months, particularly LGBTQ+ Londoners, younger Londoners and those from Mixed Ethnic Backgrounds. Women were also significantly more likely than men to say they avoid certain places or avoid going out alone as a result of unwanted attention, and many reported changing their appearance or leisure activities to feel safer.

Bexley Data

A January 2026 Survey across Bexley revealed similar feelings; respondents were asked to rate how safe they felt from VAWG in Bexley (with 1 being extremely concerned and 10 being not concerned). The average response was 5.93. This was a slight increase from our 2025 survey, which resulted in a 5.51 average safety score.

Bexley sat as the 8th safest borough in London for VAWG related offences in 2025.

In 2025, the total number of VAWG offences reported in Bexley was 3,187. The data was collected from the Metropolitan Police System CONNECT. The MPS created a new VAWG data dashboard in 2025.

Domestic Abuse-related offences (1,737)

Stalking & Harassment Offences:

• Malicious Communications – 92
• Stalking – 243
• Harassment offences – 76
• Controlling & coercive behaviour – 135
• Racially or Religiously Aggravated Harassment – 2

Violence with injury Offences:

• Assault with injury – 365
• Assault with intent to cause serious harm – 18

Public fear, alarm, distress Offences:

• Public fear, alarm or distress – 23

Rape:

• Rape of a female aged 16 and over – 73
• Rape of a female child under 13 – 1

Other sexual offences:

• Sexual assault on a female aged 13 and over – 19
• Exposure and voyeurism – 6
• Other Miscellaneous Sexual Offences – 15

Homicide Offences:

• Murder – 1

Non-Domestic Abuse-related offences (1,450)

Stalking & Harassment Offences:

• Malicious Communications – 235
• Stalking – 49
• Harassment offences – 147
• Controlling & coercive behaviour – 3
• Racially or Religiously Aggravated Harassment – 6

Violence with injury Offences:

• Assault with injury – 275
• Assault with intent to cause serious harm – 11
• Racially or religiously aggravated assault with injury – 1

Public fear, alarm, distress Offences:

• Public fear, alarm or distress – 290
• Racially or religiously aggravated public fear, alarm or distress – 75

Rape:

• Rape of a female aged 16 and over – 71
• Rape of a female child under 16 – 24
• Rape of a female – multiple undefined offenders – 10
• Rape of a female child under 13 – 6

Other sexual offences:

• Sexual assault on a female aged 13 and over – 115
• Exposure and voyeurism – 37
• Sexual assault on a female child under 13 – 17
• Sexual grooming – 10
• Sexual activity involving a child under 16 – 8
• Sexual activity involving a child under 13 – 3
• Other Miscellaneous Sexual Offences – 4

Modern Slavery Offences:

• Modern Slavery – 33

Exploitation of prostitution Offences:

• Exploitation of prostitution – 1

Criminal Justice Outcomes

According to the Metropolitan's Police CONNECT Data, in Bexley, of the total 3,187 VAWG offences in 2025, 373 (11.7%) resulted in positive Police outcomes. An investigation is considered to have a “positive outcome” when the outcome is one of the following: charged, summoned, cautioned, community resolution, drug warning or penalty notice.

National Context

According to Crime outcomes in England and Wales, nationally, between April 2024 and April 2025, police recorded around 4.5 million victim‑based offences. Sexual offences, including rape, continued to face significant investigative challenges, with 44.3% of sexual offences and 47.5% of rape offences closed due to evidential difficulties. Although these proportions were slightly lower than the previous year, rape investigations remained the slowest to progress, taking an average of 434 days to reach a charge or summons outcome. 2.8% of rape offences had reached a charge/summons by year‑end, with this figure expected to rise as more cases conclude.

Across most crime types, charge/summons rates increased in 2025, but sexual offences remained static at 4.2%, underscoring the continued complexity of these investigations. 32.3% of sexual offences remained under investigation at year-end, up from 26.6% the previous year, indicating the long investigative timelines associated with these cases. Where investigations were closed, just over 40% were attributed to evidential difficulties, and 31% because victims did not support further action.

Public Confidence and Perceptions of Policing

In Quarter 1 of 2025 – 2026 (April – July), the MOPAC Public Voice Pack saw that 67% of Londoners believed that the local area is safe for women and girls, compared to 72% of Bexley.

43% of Bexley residents felt that the MPS is effective at dealing with VAWG compared to 40% of Londoners. This percentage was different when looking at the gender split; between Quarter 1 – Quarter 3 (April 2025 – December 2025), the average percentage of female Londoners that felt the MPS is effective at dealing with VAWG, was 39% compared to 43% of males for this duration. This represents the lowest result for public confidence in the Met, recorded by the Public Voice Pack.

Bexley respondents rated how well the MPS is effective at dealing with VAWG in Bexley higher than in neighboring boroughs, at 43% compared with Bromley 35% and Lewisham 33%. Comparatively, however, Bexley is a safer borough from VAWG than other London Boroughs.

Prevalence and Emerging Trends

Domestic Abuse continues to be the highest reported form of VAWG. The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that approximately 3.8 million people (7.8%) aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse in the survey year ending March 2025. An estimated 2.2 million females (9.1%) and 1.5 million males (6.5%) experienced domestic abuse in the last year.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released in November 2025, highlighted an 11% increase in sexual offences to 209,079 recorded offences in the year ending March 2025, compared with the previous year. The ONS stated that over half of this increase can be attributed to the recording of two new sexual offences introduced in the Online Safety Act 2023: “Sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film”, commonly referred to as image-based sexual abuse, and “Sending etc. photograph or film of genitals”, commonly referred to as ‘cyberflashing’. In addition, the offence against creating explicit deepfake images was introduced as an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. These trends highlight the growing scale and complexity of online forms of violence against women and girls, reinforcing the need for prevention, education, digital safeguarding, and robust support pathways that address both in‑person and technology‑facilitated abuse.