Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s report, The economic and social costs of domestic abuse, published on 2 January 2019, whether her Department has produced estimates for the cost of (a) indecent exposure, (b) sexual touching and (c) stalking outside of the context of domestic abusive.

The Home Office has published multiple reports that cost the impact of crimes outside the context of domestic abuse (which is covered in ‘The economic and social costs of domestic abuse’, 2019). Reports that incorporate costs of indecent exposure, unwanted sexual touching, or stalking are outlined below.

The Home Office report ‘The economic and social costs of crime’ (2018) provides an estimate for the cost of indecent exposure and unwanted sexual touching. These are considered part of the broader category of “other sexual offences”, which includes indecent exposure, unwanted sexual touching, and assault by penetration excluding rape (as recorded by the Crime Survey England and Wales). The unit cost for these sexual offences is estimated at £6,520.

Separately, the Home Office has costed the impact of sexual touching alongside other contact offences in the context of child sexual abuse captured in ‘The economic and social cost of contact child sexual abuse’ (Home Office, 2021). The unit cost for contact child sexual abuse is estimated at £89,240. However, as this unit cost aggregates the impact of sexual touching with other crimes found in the context of child sexual abuse such as rape it is not directly comparable to the unit cost referenced in previous paragraph.

Home Office has produced cost estimates for stalking only in the context of domestic abuse which was published in ‘The economic and social costs of domestic abuse’ (2019). The ONS publishes information on the nature of stalking, including information on all stalking incidents as well as domestic abuse-related stalking. Stalking: findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

References:

The economic and social costs of domestic abuse (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The economic and social costs of crime (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The economic and social cost of contact child sexual abuse - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)