Domestic violence and sexual abuse cases have seen a significant upturn across Devon over the past year, amid concerns these types of offences could go unreported in rural areas.

According to a soon-to-be-published report by Devon and Cornwall Police, a third (12,380) of all offences in the 12 months to the end of March 2024 are related to domestic abuse, representing a six per cent increase over the previous year.

The data comes shortly after a report from the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) shows that violence against women and girls (VAWG) has reached ‘epidemic’ levels nationally.

Up to 3,000 of these offences are recorded each day, showing that one in 12 women (an estimated two million) are victims each year.

The report also found that more than one million VAWG-related crimes were recorded across the country during 2022/23, accounting for 20 per cent of all reported crime and representing a 37 per cent increase since 2018.

However, as VAWG is not an official crime category for D&C Police, the nearest related offences are domestic abuse (DA) and sexual assault.

Claire Parris, for D&C Police, said domestic violence was the peninsula’s biggest problem but added that “it’s a hidden harm” and that this type of offence “is not something that's readily and easily understood by members of the public”.

Claire Marshall, CEO of Fearfree, a support group for victims, added that DA offences often went unreported in rural areas such as the South Hams.

“It's easy for us to look at urban areas where the statistics do look alarming, but in a rural area, it can be even more secretive,” she told this paper.

“I've heard people say to me that ‘it doesn’t happen around here’, but that's a huge fallacy, it’s a complete nonsense,” she added.

“Just because it's in a close-knit community doesn't mean you know about it - it can be happening three doors down from you, but there’s less chance of neighbours noticing the signs and symptoms in places where people are living in isolated areas and where housing is dispersed.”

She warned that as domestic abuse did not necessarily involve physical violence, victims often found it hard to recognize that what they were experiencing was abuse.

“If it is not a physically violent relationship and it's a controlling and coercive one, it's even more difficult to recognize.

“It's a societal issue, and we need to tackle misogyny and the cultural expectations of how women are viewed,” she added.

Both Ms Parris and Ms Marshall agreed that the lack of funding in public services, the impact of Covid and the rise in mental health issues were contributing factors, with the latter pointing out that up to 18 per cent of the victims seeking help at Fearfree were now men compared to just five per cent previously.

Any person suffering from domestic or sexual abuse can contact Fearfree at 01225 775276, via email at [email protected] or through the charity’s website www.fearfree.org.uk.

There is also help via Devon's domestic abuse helpline 0345 155 1074 and rape crisis helpline 0808 802 9999.