Caroline Pidgeon has highlighted the failure of the Mayor of London, the UK government and the Metropolitan police to properly prioritise tackling violence against women.
New data obtained by the Liberal Democrats shows that the number of cases of violent crime involving female victims that result in a charge has dropped across most categories over the last few years. Notably, last year just 10% of domestic abuse cases resulted in a charge compared to 18% five years ago. The number of murder or manslaughter cases involving female victims resulting in a charge has dropped from 98% to 88% over the same period, and the number of sanction detections for violence against the person (including assault and GBH) against female victims has decreased from 12% to 8%.
The sanction detection rate has also fallen for several other categories of violent crimes against women including gang violence, gun crime, alcohol and drug-related violence, robbery and knife crime.
Caroline said:
“I think it is truly shocking that despite the widespread outcry in recent years over the levels of violence against women in London; the percentage of cases resulting in a charge across several categories of violence crime involving female victims has actually dropped.
“This data shows an abject failure by the Mayor of London, the UK Government and the Met Police to tackle one of the most serious issues facing Londoners.
“The Baroness Casey Review outlined why so many women in London have lost faith in the Met and a large part of restoring that faith will come down to making sure that violent crime against women is tackled and charges brought against perpetrators.
“Education and a culture change is only one part of eradicating violence against women, we have to see more high-profile convictions and more cases being solved. The current situation is just not acceptable.”