For generations, domestic abuse was widely seen as a private issue; something for couples to sort out between themselves. Informed, compassionate people now know that’s not true, but too many victims continue to suffer in silence.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that in the year ending March 2018, 2 million adults – 1.3 million women and 695,000 men – aged between 16 and 59 experienced domestic abuse in England and Wales. But the ONS also says that the majority of domestic abuse cases are never brought to police attention. A 2018 report by Women’s Aid found that just 28% of women using community-based domestic violence services had reported the abuse to police. Fewer than half of women using refuges had done the same.

“Ignore Boris Johnson’s defenders: concern for women’s safety is not a partisan issue”