Police in the UK have released a report highlighting a serious surge in violence against women and girls. The report states that levels of misogyny and criminal acts against women are at record levels. More than one million such crimes have been reported in one year. This may be just the tip of the iceberg. There will be a substantial number of instances of violence that go unreported. London's Metropolitan Police wrote about the gravity of this problem. It said: "Violence against women and girls is endemic, systemic, and a threat to society on the same scale as terrorism." It added that crimes against women constituted 20 per cent of all recorded crime. It said: "We must act to change the unacceptable reality for women and girls."

The report was issued by the UK's National Police Chiefs' Council and the College of Policing. Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth called the statistics "staggering". She said: "Violence against women and girls is a national emergency. We need to move forward as a society to make change, and no longer accept violence against women and girls as inevitable." The police said: "One in every 12 women will be a victim of violence. One in every six murders is a result of domestic abuse. One in 20 people - more than two million of them – will be perpetrators of violence against women and girls in their lives." It said gender-based violent crimes included harassment, murder, online sexual abuse, rape, and stalking.