A YouGov survey commissioned by Refuge found that while 71% of UK adults recognized that a woman is most likely to be abused by somebody she knows, only 12% named an ex-partner as the most likely abuser, compared to 78% who identified a current partner. Coercive and controlling behaviour became an offence in England and Wales in 2015, and post-separation abuse – coercive and controlling behaviour by a former partner after the relationship has ended – was criminalised through the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, coming into force in April 2023. More than two million women suffered domestic abuse in the year to March 2025, with 75 killed by a current or former partner, and more than seven times as many women are killed by a current or former partner than by a stranger.
A YouGov poll on behalf of Refuge shows that most UK adults still believe home is where women feel safest, with 85% believing most people feel safe in their own home, while more than half (57%) acknowledged that women are most at risk behind closed doors. When asked where women are most commonly abused, 14% cited outdoor public spaces such as parks, 10% said in the street, 5% said on public transport, 4% suggested in the workplace, while 10% were unsure, and the most common form of domestic abuse experienced by victims in the last year was emotional abuse by a partner or ex-partner. Four in 10 adults (42%) say they have heard nothing about abusers monitoring, manipulating, or controlling someone through technology such as smart devices, while only a small minority (6%) report knowing a lot.
A huge proportion of calls to Refuge come from victims of post-separation abuse, and abusers can often weaponise children to continue that control and abuse of their victims, with family courts potentially used as another method of control.