More than 6500 rapes and sexual assaults – some against children under 13 – have been committed in hospitals in England and Wales over nearly four years. Only 265 people (4.1 per cent) are known to have been charged for these offences.
The horrifying statistics – covering the lockdown period when hospitals were said to be more secure – reveal that at least 2088 rapes and 4451 sexual assaults (total: 6539) in hospitals were recorded by police forces in the UK since January 2019. One in 7 of the crimes – or 266 a year – occurred on hospital wards.
The figures have been uncovered by researchers at Women’s Rights Network who sent Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to 43 police forces in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.