More than 650,000 men said they were victims of domestic abuse over the last year, latest figures revealed today.

Women are more likely to say they have experienced domestic violence but the difference between the number of male and female victims is at its lowest level on record.

Overall, around one in 10 crimes recorded by police are linked to domestic abuse, according to Office for National Statistics released today.

In the year to the end of March forces logged a total of 1.03 million incidents in the category, a report from the Office for National Statistics found.

Women are more likely to say they have experienced domestic violence but the difference between the number of male and female victims is at its lowest level on record, Office for National Statistics figures revealed today. In the adult population as a whole, six in 100 people reported being the victim of domestic abuse in the year to March. This increases to 7.7 per cent of women, while 4.4 per cent of men said they experienced domestic violence in the 12 month period

Following investigations, police concluded that a domestic-abuse related criminal offence was committed in 421,000, or approximately two in five (41 per cent), of the incidents.

This means that 11 per cent of all crimes recorded by constabularies in England and Wales, excluding fraud, were flagged as domestic abuse-related.

There were an estimated 1.2 million female victims compared with 651,000 male victims, the report said - a difference of 506,000.

In the adult population as a whole, six in 100 people reported being the victim of domestic abuse in the year to March.

This increases to 7.7 per cent of women, while 4.4 per cent of men said they experienced domestic violence in the 12 month period.

Violence against the person offences were the most likely to be domestic abuse-related, with such cases making up a third of all recorded violent crime.

Domestic abuse is officially defined as any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members.

It can also involve psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional abuse.

Today's figures included the new criminal offence of coercive and controlling behaviour for the first time.

DOMESTIC ABUSE FIGURES AT A GLANCE In the year ending in March, there there were seven domestic abuse-related offences recorded by the police per 1,000 population across England and Wales.

This varied by police force area from four offences per 1,000 population to 13 offences per 1,000 population

A decision to charge was made for 70 per cent of domestic-abuse related cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by police.

There were a total of total of 432 domestic homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales between April 2012 and March 2015. Advertisement

Findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales show an estimated 1.8 million adults aged 16 to 59 said they were a victim of domestic abuse in the last year.

Lucy Hastings, of charity Victim Support, said: 'It is harrowing to learn that last year, nearly two million adults experienced domestic abuse, including one in eight women aged 16 to 19.

'That prevalence is so high among this age group demonstrates the importance of high-quality sex and relationships education being available to equip young people with the tools they need to understand healthy relationships, make safe choices and know how to seek advice and support.'

Louisa Rolfe, National Police Chiefs' Council lead on domestic abuse, said: 'The better our data, the better we understand domestic abuse as a crime and the more we can do to support victims and prevent harm, which is what really matters.

'However, this is only the first phase of a wider project and caution must be taken when interpreting the data or trying to make direct comparisons across different organisations, methodologies and points in time.

'For now, it should be used to stimulate thought rather than draw conclusions.'

She said the statistics 'do not currently represent the extent of our commitment to tackling domestic abuse and the scale of the challenge we face', adding: 'It is still far too acceptable in society.

'Reports to the police are continuing to rise and the gap between experienced crime and recorded crime is narrowing.

'It is good to see more victims having the confidence to come forward and start to take back control from those who seek to control and intimidate them.

'Domestic abuse is a serious crime and never the fault of the victim. We are here to help.'

Michelle Thomson, MP for Edinburgh West, spoke for the first time about the horrifying memory 37-years ago

Speaker John Bercow was reduced to tears in the Commons chamber today as a Scottish MP revealed how she was raped as a 14-year-old girl

Today's figures came as MPs debated domestic violence in the Commons.

Scottish MP Michelle Thomson used the debate to speak publicly for the first time about how she was raped as a 14-year-old girl.

The Edinburgh West MP reduced MPs and Speaker John Bercow to tears as she recalled her horrific experience 37 years ago.

She explained how she was walking home after a social event with someone she knew, who then took her into the woods and raped her.

Ms Thomson, 51, told MPs that it was 'mercifully quick' but she struggled to come to terms with the incident and had only sought private help after turning 40.

She finished her speech by telling colleagues: 'I'm not a victim, I'm a survivor'.

Her emotional, eight minute speech left colleagues wiping away tears, including Mr Bercow, whose voice was broken with emotion as he thanked her for bravery in sharing such a sensitive memory with colleagues.