Number of rape offences in England and Wales 2002-2023

Rape offences have increased dramatically in England and Wales since 2012/13 when there were 16,038 offences. After this year, rape offences increased substantially, reaching a high of 69,973 offences in the 2021/22 reporting year, before falling slightly to 68,949 in the 2022/23 reporting year. When 2022/23 is compared with the 2002/03 reporting year, there has been an almost sixfold increase in the number of rape offences recorded by the police in England and Wales.

Similar patterns in Scotland and Northern Ireland

While there has also been an increase in the number of rape and attempted rape offences in Scotland the increase has not been quite as steep, with offences reaching 2,459 in 2022/23 compared with 924 in 2002/03. In Northern Ireland there has been a steep rise in overall sexual offences, rising from 1,438 in 2002/03, to 4,232 by 2022/23. This rise in overall sexual offences is also observable in Scotland, with 195,315 offences in 2022/23, compared with 56,652.

Explaining the increase

Although overall crime has shown a noticeable uptick in recent years, the rise in sexual offences has been much more pronounced. Rather than falling and then rising again like overall crime, sexual offences also remained at a relatively stable figure, up until 2013/14, a pattern mirrored in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. This is possibly due to better reporting practices by the police as well as an increasing willingness of victims to come forward, including historic victims of sexual violence.