September 08, 2025 | Incident and Crime Statistics , Sexual Offences
Request Number: FOI/15431
Category: Incident and Crime Statistics – Violence against Women and Girls
Subject: Strangulation Offences
Request and Answer:
Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act, we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does hold the information you have requested to which your request relates. The decision has been taken to disclose the following.
Request 1
Please provide the total number of recorded strangulation offences Section 28 of the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 from 26th June 2023-25th June 2025 (inclusive), with the below details (as many as are recorded on your systems) for each case ;
a. Victim sex
b. Victim age
c. Victim ethnicity
d. Victim disability
i. Whether these cases are domestic abuse-flagged
Answer
Definition: Domestic Abuse
The PSNI has adopted the definition of domestic abuse as outlined in the Northern Ireland Government Strategy ‘Stopping Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse in Northern Ireland’ as:
‘threatening, controlling, coercive behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, virtual, physical, verbal, sexual, financial or emotional) inflicted on anyone (irrespective of age, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or any form of disability) by a current or former intimate partner or family member’.
The following will assist in the application of this definition:
(a) ‘Incident’ means an incident anywhere and not confined to the home of one of the partners/family members;
(b) ‘Family members’ include mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandparents, whether directly or indirectly related, in-laws or stepfamily.
(c) ‘Intimate partners’ means there must have been a relationship with a degree of continuity and stability. The relationship must also have had (or reasonably supposed to have had) a sexual aspect, such as in the relationship between husband and wife or between others generally recognised as a couple including same sex couples.
| a. Victim Gender | |
|---|---|
| Female | 1,465 |
| Male | 500 |
| Unknown/missing | 9 |
| Total | 1,974 |
| b. Victim age | |
|---|---|
| <18 | 223 |
| 18-29 | 581 |
| 30-39 | 523 |
| 40-49 | 325 |
| 50-59 | 198 |
| 60+ | 114 |
| Unknown/missing | 10 |
| Total | 1,974 |
| c. Victim Ethnicity | |
|---|---|
| Asian | 37 |
| Black | 29 |
| Mixed/other | 30 |
| White | 1723 |
| Ethnicity missing/unknown | 155 |
| Total | 1,974 |
| d. Victim disability | |
|---|---|
| Learning | 36 |
| Long term illness | 17 |
| Mental health | 137 |
| Physical | 66 |
| Sensory | 8 |
| None | 799 |
| Refused | 11 |
| Unknown/missing | 948 |
| Total | 2,022 |
| i. Whether these cases are domestic abuse flagged | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 1,496 |
| No | 478 |
| Total | 1,974 |
Request 2
Please provide the total number of recorded strangulation offences Section 28 of the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 from 7th June 2024–6th June 2025 (inclusive), with as many of the following details as possible for each case
a. Victim sex and gender
b. Victim age
c. Victim ethnicity
d. Victim disability
i. Whether these cases are domestic abuse-flagged
If you would be able to refine this request to the above sections, that would be much appreciated
Answer
| a. Victim Gender | |
|---|---|
| Female | 784 |
| Male | 279 |
| Unknown/missing | 5 |
| Total | 1,068 |
| b. Victim age | |
|---|---|
| <18 | 124 |
| 18-29 | 308 |
| 30-39 | 291 |
| 40-49 | 170 |
| 50-59 | 105 |
| 60+ | 65 |
| Unknown/missing | 5 |
| Total | 1,068 |
| c. Victim Ethnicity | |
|---|---|
| Asian | 25 |
| Black | 22 |
| Mixed/other | 19 |
| White | 901 |
| Ethnicity missing/unknown | 101 |
| Total | 1,068 |
| d. Victim disability | |
|---|---|
| Learning | 21 |
| Long term illness | 8 |
| Mental health | 56 |
| Physical | 27 |
| Sensory | 2 |
| None | 419 |
| Refused | 9 |
| Unknown/missing | 540 |
| Total | 1,082 |
| i. Whether these cases are domestic abuse flagged | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 799 |
| No | 269 |
| Total | 1,068 |
More than one disability can be selected for each person. The figures represent each mention of the particular disability, therefore these will sum to more than the total number of non-fatal strangulation offences recorded. In around half of non-fatal strangulation offences recorded, victim disability is Unknown/Missing. The disability details are those currently held on the person record, We cannot tell if these details existed on the person record at the time the offence was recorded and were therefore applicable at that time.
Gender unknown may include persons who have not identified as either male or female
Please Note: Figures for offences recorded from 1st April 2025 are subject to ongoing validation and quality assurance processes until publication in May 2026; annual revisions to previously published financial year figures may also be applied at this time