More than 400 offences of violence against women and girls (VAWG) were recorded in Hoxton East and Shoreditch in 2023, a Freedom of Information request has shown.
Data from the Metropolitan Police shows that Hoxton East and Shoreditch had the highest number of offences of any Hackney ward.
These figures account for almost 1 in 10 instances of VAWG in Hackney in that year.
Total VAWG offences in Hackney reached a decade high in 2023, with 5,322 offences recorded.
For every year since 2013, the number of VAWG offences in Hackney has increased.
Hoxton East and Shoreditch is home to the borough’s nightlife centre, with what the council estimates is one of the busiest night-time economies in the UK.
Violence against women and girls encapsulates a wide range of offences, including domestic abuse and sexual violence.
The Met’s violence against women and girls action plan includes specific strategies tailored towards preventing night-time violence, such as expanding the ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme and training night-time venues to respond better to female victims of violence.
‘Ask for Angela’ is a campaign where, if a woman feels unsafe in a pub or bar, she can go to a member of staff and ask them for ‘Angela’, which means the staff member will discreetly call a taxi for the woman.
The council’s Hackney Nights initiative delivers similar training to the Met for frontline staff in Hackney’s bars and pubs. More than 3,600 individuals have been trained since 2019.
Hackney’s population increased by 5.3% between 2011 and 2021 – from 246,300 to 259,200 – while VAWG offences rose by 79% between 2013 and 2023.
However, Hackney Council said the increased number of offences is likely to be due to increased awareness of VAWG and improved recording and recognition of VAWG offences by police.
Councillor Susan Fajana-Thomas OBE, Cabinet member for community safety and regulatory services, said: “We have a zero-tolerance approach to street-based or home-based violence against women and girls, and work closely with the police and all our partners, to help build awareness and enforce against this type of offences.
“While there are seasonal fluctuations in the data, we have undertaken a significant amount of training with licensed venues, and more offences are being detected and offenders brought to justice.
“Violence against women and girls is everybody’s problem. We will continue to work together with our partners not just on holding perpetrators to account and supporting victims and survivors, but also on preventing and reducing gender-based violence, as well as building trust and confidence.”
Rose Henderson is a freelance journalist, studying for a master's in newspaper journalism at City, University of London. She is a digital content producer at LBC, and her work has featured in The Telegraph and The Oxford Student, Oxford's biggest student newspaper.