Domestic abuse charity says rise in number of young survivors ‘didn’t come as a surprise’
SWA are planning to double their young people’s services
Last updated 18th Aug 2025
Swindon's domestic abuse charity says 70% of students they work with have experienced an unhealthy relationship or know someone who has.
It comes as new data from national charity Refuge revealed an increase in domestic abuse reports among 16 to 25-year-olds last week.
Among those young people who received longer-term support, psychological abuse was the most common with threats of harm and physical abuse also on the rise.
CEO of Society Without Abuse, Kate Rowland, told Greatest Hits Radio: “It sadly didn't come as a surprise to us.
“The Office for National Statistics data has kind of shown that that is the age range that are most at risk of experiencing domestic abuse for a few years now.
“So, in a way, it's positive that what Refuge are seeing is more people coming forward for support because that was previously always a really big worry with that younger cohort of victims that we didn’t know if they knew where to go to for support and if they were able to reach out for support from the right services.
“So, while it’s sad to see further confirmation that there is a rise in young people experiencing domestic abuse, it’s also good to see that they are reaching out to Refuge for that support.”
Over a third received death threats
According to Refuge, almost three quarters (73%) of young survivors have experienced psychological abuse, with three in five also having gone through coercive control.
Nearly half of all 16 to 25-year-olds who had been through psychological abuse also reported that the perpetrator had threatened to harm them.
A further 35% said their perpetrator went so far as threating to kill them – a 3% increase on the previous year.
Refuge’s data also showed physical abuse on the rise, with strangulation or suffocating up by almost 10%.
While Refuge welcomed the latest Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) guidance reform from the Department of Education, they still believe more needs to be done for young people to be able to spot the signs – a call which Society Without Abuse agree with.
“We still hear lots of reports from young people who would say they had never really had conversations about domestic abuse.
“They never really would have seen that their relationship was abusive until they've been in it for a very long time and perhaps things had escalated beyond emotional abuse and beyond controlling behaviours into something even more terrifying”, Ms Rowland added.
“I think there's a big part to be played in terms of training and education for professionals who are working with young people as well. Things like being careful with our language.
'Toxic relationship' instead of 'domestic abuse'
“’Domestic abuse’, that's not a term that resonates with young people. They think domestic abuse is something that happens to old married people. And so actually if we go in talking about domestic abuse, they don't connect with that as something that could potentially happen to them.
“So, it is thinking about language and how we reach people at the right level, really.”
Better alternatives, she explained, would be “unhealthy relationship”, “abusive behaviours” or “toxic relationship”, which is a term often used by young people themselves and on social media.
While she does believe that social media benefits young people by spreading awareness of abusive behaviours, she also said that it is those same technologies that make controlling behaviours easier for perpetrators.
“Young people are very much more open to sharing their lives online, particularly with friends and partners.
“I demonstrate trust in my relationship by not tracking my partner and by not looking at their phone and by not feeling we need to be connected all the time. What we're hearing from young people is they demonstrate trust in their relationship by sharing locations and by sharing passwords and by being very open using technology.
“And then obviously that leads to the ability for someone who wants to use abusive behaviours to use that in an unhealthy or controlling way.”
Help available
If you’re affected by issues raised in this article, there is help available from Society Without Abuse at societywithoutabuse.org.uk.
- The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247 (run by Refuge)
- The Men’s Advice Line, for male domestic abuse survivors is 0808 801 0327 (run by Respect)
- The National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0800 999 5428 (run by Galop)
If you are in immediate danger always call 999.