Domestic violence accounts for almost a fifth of all recorded crime, according to a new Brighton and Hove City Council report.
It also accounts for almost two fifths of all offences of violence against a person, while more than a quarter of all homicides are linked to domestic abuse.
The scale of the problem had grown since the coronavirus lockdowns and other pandemic-related restrictions were imposed, the report suggested.
It said: “Compared to 2019, in 2020 there was a 58 per cent increase in ongoing support and a 24 per cent increase in referrals to domestic abuse services funded by the Sussex police and crime commissioner, highlighting the potential impact of covid-19.”
In Brighton and Hove alone, the report said, 53 people became homeless as a result of domestic abuse in 2020-21 up from 11 in 2019-20.
The report, citing force-wide figures from Sussex Police for 2020-21, also said that the accused are brought before the criminal courts in just 5 per cent of domestic abuse cases.
And even fewer – just 4 per cent of incidents – result in a conviction although the police and other agencies were working together more closely in thousands of cases.
In Brighton and Hove, the report said, there were an estimated 8,200 female victims of domestic abuse and violence aged 16 to 74.
It cited the Office for National Statistics to suggest that there were almost 4,200 male victims aged 16 to 74 and just under 9,000 child victims.
Across Sussex, an estimated 7 per cent of women and 4 per cent of men have experienced at least one episode of domestic abuse in the past year, the report said, or more than 67,000 adults.
In 2020-21, Sussex Police recorded 20,800 domestic abuse incidents, which was 18 per cent of all recorded crime and 38 per cent of all violence against the person.
The details were set out in the draft Pan-Sussex Strategy for Domestic Abuse Accommodation and Support 2021-24.
The strategy is due to be presented to the council’s Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture Committee next week.
It takes into account the duties on councils under the Domestic Abuse Act which became law last year.
The draft strategy said: “The Domestic Abuse Act has been designed to provide further protections to those who experience domestic abuse and strengthen measures to tackle perpetrators.”
Councillors are being asked to approve a strategy that is aimed at, among other things, empowering the victims or survivors of abuse to stay in their own home should they wish.
It is intended to be “victim-centre”, collaborative, inclusive and responsive – as well as accessible to all those who “meet the specific needs of those with a full range of protected characteristics”.
The council’s Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 4pm on Thursday 11 January. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
