Relationship Between Victims and Reported Suspects for Sexual and Assault Offences, Q3 2021-Q3 2022

Three out of every four reported suspects of Assault offences were known to the victim

Three out of every four (75%) reported suspects of Assault offences between Q3 2021 and Q3 2022 were known to the victim. See Figure 3.1 and Table 3.1.

One fifth of reported suspects of Assault offences were partners or ex-partners

Just over a fifth (22%) of reported suspects of Assault offences were partners or ex-partners. Friends or acquaintances were the reported suspect for 14% of Assault offences while the corresponding share for Blood relatives was 13%. See Figure 3.2 and Table 3.1.

Strangers much more likely to be the reported suspect for Assault offences against males than females

Strangers were the reported suspect for 36% of assault crimes against males compared with just 12% for those against females. By contrast, partners or ex-partners were the reported suspect for nearly four in ten (39%) assaults against females compared with just 6% for males. See Figure 3.3 and Table 3.1.

Partners or ex-partners far more likely to be the reported suspect for assaults against females than for males

Females were the victims of nearly nine out of ten (87%) assaults where the reported suspect was a current partner or spouse compared with just 13% for males. Similarly, where the reported suspect was a former partner or spouse, 86% of victims were female and just 14% were male.

By contrast, males were the victim in just over three out of every four (76%) assaults where the reported suspect was a stranger to the victim, and it was nearly the same (73%) for assaults involving a colleague or work relationship. See Figure 3.4 and Table 3.2.

Blood relatives were the reported suspects for three out of ten assaults on persons aged under 18 when the incident occurred

Blood relatives were the reported suspect for 30% of assaults committed against persons under 18 years when the offence occurred. This compares to 17% for those who were 45 years, 8% for the 18-29 age group and 7% for those aged 30-44 when the incident occurred. See Figure 3.5 and Table 3.3.

Just over one fifth (21%) of assaults against victims under 18 at the time of the incident involved a stranger to the victim as the reported suspect. 

Strangers to the victim were also the reported suspect for a significant share of assaults on persons in the other age groups. Just under three in ten (29%) of offences against persons in the 18-29 age group involved strangers as the reported suspect while the share was nearly a quarter in each of the 30-44 and 45 years and over age groups.

However, partners or ex-partners were more likely to have committed assaults against the older age groups than against persons under 18 years of age. Partners or ex-partners were the reported suspect for 30% of assaults against persons aged 30-44 years when the offence occurred and 24% of those against persons aged 18-29 years compared with just 2% of assaults against those under 18 years. See Figure 3.5 and Table 3.3.

Half of all victims of assault where the reported suspect was a partner or ex-partner were aged 30-44 years when the incident occurred

When the reported suspect was a current partner or spouse 50% of the victims of assault were aged between 30 and 44 years when the offence occurred. Slightly less (47%) of victims were aged 30-44 years when the reported suspects were a former partner or spouse.

The older age groups were more likely to be the victims of assault when friends and acquaintances were the reported suspects. Just over eight in ten (83%) victims were over 18 when the incident occurred compared to 17% for those who were under 18 years of age. 

Persons over 18 years were also more likely to be the victims of assault where the reported suspect was a stranger to them than those under 18 years. Two thirds (66%) of such victims were aged between 18 and 44 years when the offence occurred and nearly a quarter (23%) were aged 45 years or more. Just 11% of victims were aged under 18. See Figure 3.6 and Table 3.4.

The reported suspect was a stranger for a higher share of Assault offences reported within a year of occurrence than after a year

Strangers were the reported suspects for a quarter (25%) of Assault offences reported within a year of occurrence compared with just 4% of those reported after a year.

The reported suspect was a friend or acquaintance for a higher share also of those reported within a year rather than after a year. Just 7% of such assaults were reported more than a year after occurrence compared with 14% of those reported within a year. 

By contrast, just over half (51%) of assaults reported more than a after occurrence involved partners or ex-partners as reported suspects compared with just under a fifth (21%) of those reported within a  year. See Figure 3.7 and Table 3.5.