Financial cost of domestic violence set at £20 billion
Domestic violence costs the UK economy £20 billion a year, according to new Government figures.
The research, conducted by Professor Sylvia Walby at the University of Leeds, takes into account the working time lost and the cost of treating injuries, as well as the human and emotional suffering.
She estimates that it costs services, such as the NHS and the criminal justice system, £3 billion a year, with the wider cost placed at £17 billion. This estimation of “intangible costs” is based on an estimation of “costs in comparable circumstances of crime and injury” based on “the public’s ‘willingness-to-pay’ to avoid pain and suffering”.
The breakdown for tangible costs includes £1 billion for the criminal justice system, £1.2 billion for the NHS and £2.7 billion to the UK economy through time off work through injuries.
Commenting on the research, Deputy Women’s Minister Jacqui Smith said: “This is a life or death issue and thousands turn up in casualty departments and doctors surgeries with the scars and bruises of this appalling abuse.
“This ground breaking research shows we are all affected by domestic violence, it’s a clear challenge to employers and agencies to take
this as seriously as we do. We have worked with the TUC to produce workplace guidance on how employers can give practical help to those
effected by domestic violence.
“We’re taking action at all levels, in the courts, with the police, in schools, in hospitals, and housing to help rid our communities of this abuse.”
Home Office Minister, Baroness Scotland said that the findings would “strengthen the case we are making for domestic violence to be on the agenda of every statutory agency and private business, affecting as it does their customers and employees”.
Key Government policies designed to tackle domestic violence include the funding of a 24-hour helpline, increased training and prevention guidelines for key professionals and new powers for the police and courts.
