Infographic: Family Violence in Canada

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Release date: January 21, 2016
Infographic: Family Violence in Canada
Description for Infographic: Family Violence in Canada

Police-reported family violence is defined as all types of violent crime perpetrated by a family member that was reported to the police.

In two thousand and fourteen, more than three hundred and twenty-three thousand six hundred people were victims of a violent crime, twenty-six percent of whom were victimized by a family member.

  • Seven out of ten victims of family violence were women and girls.

Youth aged twelve to seventeen years were at highest risk of sexual assault, both family and non-family related.

More than fifteen thousand two hundred victims of a violent crime were under twelve years old. These children were most often harmed by a family member.

  • Fifty-five percent of violent crime against children under twelve years old was by family members.
    • Broken down as follows:
      • Thirty-eight percent by a parent
      • Nine percent by extended family
      • Eight percent by a sibling
  • Forty-five percent of violent crime against children under twelve years old was by others.
    • Broken down as follows:
      • Twenty percent by an acquaintance
      • Fifteen percent by other relationships
      • Ten percent by a stranger

More than nine thousand two hundred seniors, aged sixty five years and older, were victims of violent crime, about one-third committed by a family member. Of this number,

  • Thirty-four percent of violent crimes were by family members.
  • Twenty-five percent of violent crimes were by a stranger.
  • Twenty-one percent of violent crimes were by other relationships.
  • Twenty percent of violent crimes were by an acquaintance.

Self-reported spousal violence is defined as incidents of physical and sexual spousal violence that may or may not have been reported to the police.

  • Seventy percent of spousal violence is not reported to police.

Many victims of spousal violence experience severe forms of violence

Specifically:

  • Twenty-five percent of all spousal violence victims were sexually assaulted, beaten, choked or threatened with a gun or a knife.
    • Thirty-four percent of female spousal violence victims were sexually assaulted, beaten, choked or threatened with a gun or a knife
    • Sixteen percent of male spousal violence victims were sexually assaulted, beaten, choked or threatened with a gun or a knife
  • Twenty-four percent of all spousal violence victims were kicked, bitten, hit, or hit with something.
    • Thirty-five percent of male spousal violence victims were kicked, bitten, hit, or hit with something
    • Ten percent of female spousal violence victims were kicked, bitten, hit, or hit with something

Source: Police-reported family violence: Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, 2014
Self-reported spousal violence: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey on victimization, 2014

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