The Daily, Friday, June 11, 1999. Family violence: A statistical profile

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Family violence: A statistical profile

All segments of the family are affected by family violence, according to the newest statistical profile of family violence in Canada. Parents assaulted children, both men and women assaulted their spouses and even the elderly were victims of their children.

According to data reported to 179 police forces in six provinces including Ontario and Quebec, women accounted for about nine out of 10 victims (88%) of spousal violence.

Seniors aged 65 and over were victims in 2% of all crimes of violence reported to these police forces in 1997. Almost one-quarter of these incidents involved family members.

However, the impact on the lives of children was far more substantial. In 1997, children under 18 were victims in 23% of all assaults reported to the police. In about one-quarter of these, family members committed the offence.

These data offer only a partial look at family violence in the country. The 179 police forces that provided the data represent only 48% of the national volume of reported crime, and not all crimes are reported to the police. Consequently, the information is not nationally representative.

Spousal violence: women far more likely to be victimized than men

According to police-reported data, women were more likely to be victimized by a spouse, either married or common-law, than were men. About 31% of all female victims of violence in 1997 were attacked by a spouse, compared with only 4% of all male victims of violence. As a result, 88% of spousal assault victims were women.

Common assault represented the largest proportion of spousal violence incidents, accounting for three-quarters of all victims of spousal violence reported to the police forces. More serious forms of assault, such as assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm and aggravated assault, were the second most frequently reported spousal violence crimes. Together these offences accounted for 14% of all reported victims. Criminal harassment, or stalking, accounted for about 7% of offences against spousal violence victims.

The five-year trend for police-reported spousal assault (including physical and sexual assaults) of reported female victims has decreased 8% from 1993 to 1997, while the number of male victims has increased 18%. These trend data are based on a sample representing about 21% of the national volume of crime.

Note to readers

As part of the federal government's Family Violence Initiative, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS) produces the annual report, Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile. This report is intended to provide the most up-to-date data on the nature and extent of family violence in Canada, and to monitor trends over time. Each annual edition of the report has a special focus or theme. The 1999 report, the second in the series, presents an overview of violence against spouses, children and older adults, and includes a special focus on justice system responses to the problem of family violence.

The data for this report are drawn from a number of sources including the Revised Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCRII), Homicide Survey, Transition Home Survey, National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, RCMP Operational Statistics Reporting System, and the Hospital Morbidity Survey.

The UCRII captures detailed information on criminal incidents reported to police, including characteristics of victims and accused persons. This survey collects data from 179 police agencies in six provinces, representing 48% of the national volume of reported crime. Even though this survey provides a rich analytical database, readers are cautioned that these data are not nationally representative: 41% are from Quebec, 33% from Ontario, 11% from Alberta, 8% from British Columbia, 6% from Saskatchewan and 1% from New Brunswick.

The Homicide Survey collects data on all police-reported homicides across Canada, as well as characteristics of victims and accused persons. Homicides include first- and second-degree murder, manslaughter and infanticide.

Spousal homicide accounts for a substantial proportion of all homicides in Canada. During the two decades between 1978 and 1997, spouses represented 18% of all victims of solved homicides and nearly half (48%) of family-related incidents.

During this period, three times as many wives as husbands were killed by their spouses - 1,485 women were killed by their husbands, and 442 husbands were killed by their wives. (The Homicide Survey collects data on all police-reported homicides across Canada.)

However, despite yearly fluctuations, the rate of homicide against both husbands and wives has declined gradually over the 20 years.

Young wives have been at the greatest risk of spousal homicide. Between 1990 and 1997, women under 25 who were either married, separated or living common-law were killed at a rate of 29 per one million couples, 2.4 times the rate of women in the next age group, 25 to 34.

Violence against children: fathers most frequent offenders

In 1997, parents were the main perpetrators of assault against children and youth within families. Parents represented 65% of family members accused of physical assaults against children and youth, and 44% of those accused of sexual assaults.

Fathers, more often than mothers, were the reported offenders in cases of assaults against children and youth, regardless of the type of abuse or the child's age. In 1997, in incidents involving parents, fathers were accused in 97% of sexual assaults and 71% of physical assaults.

In 1997, 96 children and youth under the age of 18 were victims of homicide, 17% of all homicides in Canada. Family members, mostly parents, were responsible for 76% of the homicides against these youngsters, a significant increase over the average of 59% during the previous 10 years.

The number of mothers and fathers accused of killing their children has risen over the past decade, which is contrary to the trend in spousal homicide and total homicides. More than one-half of the children in these cases were under the age of three. Fathers were implicated in 37 homicides in 1997, up from a low of 16 in 1992. For mothers, the number has fluctuated over the past decade but has increased from 12 to 25 between 1995 and 1997.

Between 1993 and 1997, infants under one year of age had by far the highest annual rate of homicide among children and youth under 18 years. Family members committed a majority (93%) of these homicides, of which mothers accounted for 45% and fathers 40%.

Violence against older adults by family members

In 1997, adults aged 65 and over accounted for 2% of all victims of violent crime reported to a sample of 179 police agencies. In almost one-quarter of these incidents, family members were the perpetrators.

In cases where family members were the accused, older men were proportionately more likely to be victimized by their adult children (41%) than by a spouse (28%). In contrast, older women were victimized equally as often by adult children (40%) and spouses (40%).

As was the case with younger women and girls, women aged 65 and over were more frequently the victims of violence committed by family members than were older men. Family members were implicated in 29% of all incidents against older women compared with 17% of those against older men.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Information and Client Services (613-951-9023; 1-800-387-2231), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.