You asked
I would like to request information on child sexual molestation statistics over the past 5 years in the U.K. specifically between the ages of 5 and 12 years, and the numbers of male versus female children abused in each of these years.
We said
Thank you for your request regarding statistics relating to sexual offences against children between the ages of 5 and 12 years, in the UK. We do not hold the specific statistics you have requested, however you may find some of the following information of use.
Our primary sources of data for crime statistics are the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and police recorded crime. For data on sexual offences against children, police recorded crime is the main source of data. We do not hold any UK-wide statistics or data for Scotland and Northern Ireland. To obtain data for these areas you will need to contact the relevant devolved administrations who can be e-mailed on JusticeAnalysts@gov.scot or webstats@psni.pnn.police.uk.
Police recorded crime data, covering crimes reported to and recorded by the police, is published within our quarterly statistical bulletins on crime in England and Wales and provides a breakdown of sexual offences against children. Offences recorded that are relevant to your request include ‘Rape of a male/female child under 13’, ‘Sexual assault on a male/female child under 13’, ‘Sexual activity with a child aged under 13’ and ‘Abuse of children through sexual exploitation’. However, we are unable to separately identify offences against children specifically aged between 5 and 12 years old.
These data are available in Appendix Table A4 of our latest quarterly publication, Crime in England and Wales: year ending Dec 2016. Data for these offences is available for the years ending March 2003 to the year ending December 2016, so you will be able to access the data for the years you have requested.
Our next quarterly bulletin, Crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2017 will be published on 20 July 2017.
The CSEW, formerly known as the British Crime Survey (BCS), is a face-to-face victimisation survey in which people resident in households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of a range of crimes in the 12 months prior to the interview. From January 2009, the CSEW was extended to include children aged between 10 and 15; however these children are not asked any questions on sexual offences. Therefore, the CSEW does not provide any data relevant the information you have requested.
If you would like any further information, you can contact the team at CrimeStatistics@ons.gov.uk and we will endeavour to help.