Today is a sorry day for women and men across the U.K. as the director of public prosecutions has announced the number of prosecutions against perpetrators who have acted violently towards women and girls in England and Wales reached an unprecedented high last year.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) annual report on violence against women and girls, the number of offence including domestic abuse, rape and sexual assaults increased by almost 10% to 117,568 in 2015 – a phenomenon Saunders partially blames on social media.
Director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, told The Guardian: 'The use of the internet, social media and other forms of technology to humiliate, control and threaten individuals is rising and it is something that we will possibly see increase further.
'It is undoubtedly easier to commit a lot of these crimes online, people do it without thinking, it is more immediate and it is about the reach and ability to communicate to so many more people,' she added.
New legislation, such as the recently introduced law on revenge porn, has contributed to the statistical increase, with 206 cases of revenge pornography taken to court after the law was passed in April 2015. However, it's important to note this is only the number of reported cases with unregistered cases going largely under the radar.
In addition to the increased number of cases relating to violence against women and girls, the CPS admitted it saw an unprecedented number of stalking and harassment cases last year, with a number totaling 12,986.
The news comes days after an Egyptian MP claimed female genital mutilation (FGM) would help reduce women's 'sexual appetites' and curb male 'sexual weakness', despite the procedure being illegal since 2008.
Mr Agina said: 'We are a population whose men suffer from sexual weakness, which is evident because Egypt is among the biggest consumers of sexual stimulants that only the weak will consume.
'If we stop [female genital mutilation], we will need strong men and we don't have men of that sort,' he added.
According to the 2015 Egyptians Health Issues Survey, 9/10 Egyptian women between the ages 15 to 49 have undergone FGM.
It seems we have a long way to go until women until domestic violence is beaten.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
