Chapter 7: Women and the criminal justice system

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Women as victims of crime

Traditionally, women’s involvement in the criminal justice system has been more as victims of crime rather than as perpetrators. In 2004, women were charged with committing 17% of all crime in Canada, whereas they represented about half (51%) of all victims of violent crime reported to a sample of police forces.¹ (Table 7.1)

Table 7.1 Victims of selected violent crimes, by type of crime, 2004

Common assaults make up the largest share of violent offences committed against women. In 2004, 53% of all women who were victims of a violent offence were victims of a common assault, while 13% were victims of a sexual assault, 11% were victims of an assault with a weapon causing bodily harm, 10% were victims of criminal harassment, and 8% were robbery victims.

When looking at gender difference, women are considerably more likely than men to be victims of violent crimes such as sexual assault and criminal harassment. In 2004, there were over six times as many female victims of sexual assault as male victims. Similarly, women were over three times more likely than men to be victims of criminal harassment.

According to police-reported data, women are more likely to be victimized by someone they know than their male counterparts. In 2004, relatives or acquaintances made up 70% of the assailants in violent incidents against women, compared with 46% of those committed against men. In contrast, female victims were only half as likely as male victims, 22% versus 42%, to be victimized by a stranger.

In comparison with men, female victims of violent crime are more often victimized by a current or former spouse, a current or former partner in a dating relationship, or a family member. In 2004, 40% of female victims were victimized by someone with whom they had a relationship at one point in time, through either marriage or dating, compared with 8% of male victims. Another 8% of females were victimized by other family members, such as aunts, uncles, sisters, or brothers, while close friends or business acquaintances represented 8% of the perpetrators of violent crimes against women. In comparison, 5% of male victims of violent crime were victimized by family member other than a spouse or dating partner, while 10% were victimized by a friend or business acquaintance.

Table 7.2 Age distribution of victims of selected violent crime, by type of offence, 2004

The prevalence of spousal violence

Statistics Canada has collected data on spousal violence against women and men through the General Social Surveys on Victimization in 1999 and again in 2004. What both these surveys indicated was that relatively equal proportions of women and men experienced some form of physical or sexual violence by a common-law or marital partner in the five years prior to the survey. However, women and men experience very different types of spousal violence and the impact of the violence is more serious for women than men.

There has been no change in the overall level of spousal violence reported by those who were married or living common-law during the past five years. In 2004, 653,000 women aged 15 and over, 7% of those in either a current or previous marital or commonlaw union, experienced spousal violence in the past five years. This estimate was basically unchanged from 1999. As well, the percentage of women reporting spousal violence by a spouse or common-law partner was about the same as that for their male counterparts, 6% of whom reported such violence in 2004.²

Women who had been in contact with a previous partner in the five-year period before the survey are considerately more likely than those in a current relationship to be victims of spousal violence. In 2004, 21% of women who had been in contact with a former spouse in this time period reported some form of abuse, whereas this was the case for 3% of women in a current relationship. (Chart 7.1)

Chart 7.1 Proportion of women and men reporting spousal violence in the previous 5 years, 1999 and 2004

Women were also somewhat more likely than their male counterparts to be victims of spousal violence from a former spouse or partner. In 2004, 16% of men who had been in contact with their former spouse or partner self-reported violence and 4% of men in current relationships indicated experiencing violence.³ In contrast, there was almost no difference in the rates of spousal violence reported by women and men in a current relationship.

The proportion of women experiencing spousal violence at the hands of a former spouse or partner, though, has declined in recent years. As indicated above, in 2004, 21% of women who had been in contact with a previous partner in the five-year period before the survey reported some form of abuse, down from 28% in 1999. Similarly, the share of men reporting some form of spousal abuse from a former partner declined from 22% to 16% in the same period.

While the overall incidence rates of spousal violence experienced by women and men are similar, women are more likely to experience more serious forms of violence. The greatest proportion of both abused women and men indicated that the most serious violence they experienced was being pushed, shoved or slapped (40% and 34%). However, 23% of female victims of spousal violence reported that the most serious violence used against them involved being beaten, choked, or threatened with or had a gun or knife used against them, compared with 15% of their male counterparts. At the same time, 16% of female victims, versus a statistically insignificant share of male victims, reported they had been sexually assaulted. Men victims, on the other hand, were more likely than women victims to report that the most serious violence they experienced was being kicked, bitten, hit or hit with something: 34% versus 10%. (Chart 7.2)

Chart 7.2 Most serious form of spousal violence reported by women and men in the past 5 years, 2004

Women are also more likely than men to experience repeated violence at the hands of a current or former partner. In 2004, 57% of female victims reported that they had been victimized more than once, compared with 50% of male victims. As well, women were almost twice as likely to report that they had been the targets of more than 10 violent incidents at the hands of their partner, than were of male victims (21% versus 11%).

Since women are more likely than men to report more serious types of violence, as well as repeated episodes of violence by a marital or common-law partner, it is not surprising that women are also more likely to suffer physical injury. In 2004, over four in 10 (44%) of female victims reported they had been injured as a result of the violence, whereas this was the case for 19% of male spousal-violence victims. (Table 7.3)

Table 7.3 Severity of spousal violence reported by female and male victims in the past five years, 1999 and 2004

Women are also more likely than men to seek medical attention as a result of spousal violence. In 2004, 13% of women who had been victims of spousal violence in the five-year period prior to the survey indicated that they had sought medical attention, compared with 2% of male victims.

Female victims of spousal violence were also more than three times more likely than male victims to fear for their lives. In 2004, 34% of female victims of spousal violence, versus 10% of their male counterparts, said that they had feared for their lives at some point.

Among female victims of spousal violence cuts and bruises are the injuries most frequently reported. Of female victims of spousal violence in the five years prior to the 2004 survey who had been injured, 95% said they had been bruised, while 35% had been cut. (Chart 7.3)

Chart 7.3 Types of injuries suffered by women and men injured in incidents of spousal violence in the past 5 years, 2004

While women who had been injured were more likely to say that they had been bruised than men, men were more likely to have been cut. These results are consistent with police-reported data that reveal that women in cases of spousal violence are more likely to rely on weapons than men, while men are more likely to use physical force.

At the same time, female victims of spousal violence are more likely than their male counterparts to report severe injuries, such as fractures and broken bones. As well, approximately 8% of women who were injured reported that they had suffered a miscarriage because of the violence.

Aboriginal women more likely to suffer spousal violence

Aboriginal women are more than three times more likely to report being victims of spousal violence than their non-Aboriginal counterparts.⁴ In 2004, 24% of Aboriginal women reported they had been the victims of some form of spousal violence in the previous five years, compared with 7% of non-Aboriginal women. (Chart 7.4)

Chart 7.4 Rates of spousal violence reported by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women and men, 1999 and 2004

Female Aboriginal victims of spousal violence also experience more serious forms of violence at the hands of their intimate partners than do non- Aboriginal women. For example, in 2004, 41% of female Aboriginal victims stated that they had either been beaten, choked, sexually assaulted, threatened, or had a gun or knife used against them, versus 27% of non- Aboriginal female victims.

While spousal violence may often not leave a physical mark or injury, it can have lasting emotional impact for both male and female victims. For example, female victims of spousal violence were much more likely than male victims to report they were either fearful in general because of the violence, or depressed, or suffered from anxiety attacks. In fact, 30% of all female victims of spousal violence in the five-year period prior to 2004, compared with 5% of their male counterparts, said they were fearful in general because of the violence. At the same time, over twice as many female victims (21%) as male victims (9%) suffered from anxiety or depression because of the attacks. Women were also more likely than male victims of spousal violence to report being more cautious/ aware after the attacks; to have sleeping problems; feeling ashamed or guilty; afraid for the children; more self-reliant; and to have problems relating to other men/women. In contrast, only 6% of female victims of spousal violence in the five-year period prior to 2004 said not much when asked how the violence affected them overall, whereas 30% of male victims gave this as a response.

Women at greater risk of spousal homicide

Women are less than half as likely as men to be murdered (Table 7.4). As with other types of victimization, however, women are much more likely than male victims to be killed by someone they know rather than by a stranger. Indeed, in 2004, 94% of female homicide victims were killed by either a family member or other acquaintance, whereas this was the case for 79% of male victims. In contrast, only 6% of female homicide victims were killed by a stranger, versus 21% of their male counterparts.

Table 7.4 Female and male victims of homicide, by relation to accused, 2004

Specifically, of all solved homicides in 2004 with a female victim, 59% were committed by a family member. Indeed, 37% of all female homicide victims that year were killed by a current spouse (28%) or ex-spouse (9%). In contrast, only 4% of male homicide victims were killed by their spouse or former spouse. In fact, women made up 84% of all victims of spousal homicide in 2004, whereas they accounted for only 28% of all other homicide victims.

While the number of women killed annually by a current or former spouse continues to be higher than the number of men killed by a spouse, the spousal homicide rate has fallen for both women and men over the past two and a half decades. In 2004, for example, seven wives were murdered for every million couples, half the figure in 1977. In the same period, the incidence of spousal homicide among men dipped by over 60%. (Chart 7.5)

Chart 7.5 Spousal homicide rate, 1977 to 2003

Almost all spousal homicide-suicide victims are wives

Between 1961 and 2004, there were a total of 873 spousal homicides in Canada⁵ in which the chargeable suspect committed suicide.⁶ Of these spousal murder-suicides, wives were the victims in 97% of the cases, whereas husbands were the victims in only 3%.

As well, many instances of homicide-suicide involve a history of spousal violence. Of the 271 men⁷ accused of spousal homicide-suicides between 1991 and 2004, police reported that four out of 10 (43%) had a known history of family violence. This was especially pronounced for separated couples. There was, for example, a known history of family violence in 64% of cases of homicide-suicide between 1991 and 2004 in which the couple was separated.

Women victims of spousal violence more likely to turn to formal help agencies

Since women who are victims of spousal violence are more likely than male victims to be injured and to suffer more serious and repeated incidents of violence, it is not surprising that a larger proportion of female spousal-violence victims seek out help from various formal helping agencies or supports. They are also more likely to turn to the police and obtain restraining orders against their partner than male spousal-violence victims.

According to the 2004 General Social Survey, female victims of spousal violence are more than twice as likely as male victims to turn to a social service agency for help. That year, almost half of all female victims of spousal violence (47%), versus only 20% of male victims, turned to a social agency for support.

Female victims of spousal violence are the most likely to use the services of a counsellor or psychologist. In 2004, 28% of women victimized by spousal violence contacted one of these types of professionals, while 11% stayed at a transition home, 10% used a crisis centre or crisis line, 9% got help from a community or family centre, 8% employed the services of a women’s centre, and 5% turned to a police or court-based victim service.⁸

In addition, cases of spousal violence perpetrated against women are much more likely than those committed against men to come to the attention of the police. In 2004, 37% of all incidents of spousal violence committed against women were reported to the police, versus 17% of cases in which a male was the victim.

According to the 2004 GSS there are differences in the actions that police take in cases of spousal violence depending on whether the victim is female or male. For example, in almost half of all cases involving a female victim (48%), the abuser was removed from the home by police, compared with 32% of cases involving a male victim. Similarly, police made an arrest or laid a charge in 41% of instances of wife assault, twice the figure in which the husband was the victim (21%). (Chart 7.6)

Chart 7.6 Police action in cases of spousal assault, 2004

There was also a significant difference in the likelihood of female and male victims of spousal violence seeking restraining or protective orders from the courts. For example, in 2004, female victims of spousal violence who had reported the violence to the police were more than twice as likely to seek the protection of a restraining or protective order as were their male counterparts: 38% versus 15%.⁹

Eight in 10 abused women in shelters were there to escape a current or former spouse/common law partner

In Canada, the establishment of shelters as a refuge for women fleeing abusive situations dates back to the 1970s. Since then, the number of shelters has increased considerably, rising from fewer than 20 known facilities in operation that provided residential services to abused women and their children in 1975 to over 500 by 2004.

According to the Transition Home Survey, a national survey of 473 facilities providing residential services to abused women and their children, there were more than 95,000 admissions of women and dependent children to shelters across Canada between April 1, 2003 and March 31, 2004.

While some residents may have used shelters for reasons other than to escape domestic violence, such as lack of affordable or available housing, drug or alcohol addiction, or mental health problems, the majority of women and children admitted to shelters were fleeing an abusive situation. Specifically, a one-day snapshot of shelters indicates that more than three-quarters (76%) of women and 88% of children staying in shelters on April 14, 2004, were there to escape abuse.

Most abused women were fleeing the abuse of a current or former spouse/common law partner. Of women fleeing abuse staying in a shelter on April 14, 2004, 38% were fleeing a common-law partner, while 28% were escaping a marital spouse, and 13% were fleeing from a former spouse or partner. (Chart 7.7)

Chart 7.7 Distribution of abused women in shelters on April 14, 2004, by relationship to abuser

Due to the often cyclical nature of domestic violence, women involved in abusive relationships are often caught in a revolving door of abuse and refuge. Data from the Transition Home Survey show that nearly one-third (31%) of all women in shelters on April 14, 2004 had been there before, with nearly 90% of re-admissions occurring within the previous year. Specifically, four in 10 women had been to the shelter in which they were currently staying once before during the previous year and nearly the same proportion (38%) had two to four prior admissions, while 9% had been re-admitted five or more times in the previous year.

Most women leaving shelters do not plan to return to their abusive spouse or partner. Of the women who left a shelter on April 14, 2004, only about one in 10 (11%) planned to return to their spouse or partner, while 62% intended to depart for another destination. Specifically, over one-fifth (21%) of women leaving on that day left for another shelter¹⁰ and nearly the same proportion left for new accommodations without their spouse or partner (18%). At the same time, one in 10 women (11%) went to stay with friends or relatives, while 5% returned home without their spouse or partner and 7% left for some other housing arrangement. The destination of the remaining 27% of women leaving these shelters that day was unknown.

In addition to the residential services offered by shelters, there are a number of non-residential agencies to which victims of domestic violence can turn for help. For instance, according to the Victim Services Survey, about two-thirds of victim services agencies across Canada are mandated to serve adult victims of spousal abuse and 63% targeted adult victims of other domestic violence.¹¹ Many of these agencies assist victims of domestic violence by offering information, emotional support, liaison services, safety planning, court accompaniment, as well as a variety of other services.

According to the one-day snapshot of the Victim Services Survey taken October 22, 2003, one-third of all victims of all types of crime served by victim services agencies were the victims of spousal violence, and 94% of these victims were female.

Women as offenders

The level of women’s involvement in criminal activities is relatively low in comparison to their male counterparts. In 2004, women made up 18% of adults charged with criminal code offences. That year, just over 75,000 adult women were charged with a criminal code offence. (Table 7.5)

Women as a proportion of adults charged with criminal activity has risen somewhat in the past few decades. In 2004, women made up 18% of all adults charged with a criminal code offence, up from 14% in 1977. (Chart 7.8)

Chart 7.8 Women as a percentage of adults charged with all criminal code offences, 1977 to 2004

Women generally make up a greater share of those charged with property offences than violent offences. In 2004, women represented 23% of those charged with property offences, versus 16% of those charged with a violent crime. In fact, women are consistently more likely than men to be charged with property offences than they are with violent offences such as homicide, assault, sexual assault or robbery. That year, for example, 32% of all adult women charged with a crime were charged with a property offence, compared with 22% of men. (Table 7.5)

Table 7.5 Adult women and men charged, by type of crime, 2004

Moreover, the vast majority of property crimes for which women are charged involve either theft under $5,000 or fraud. In 2004, 31% of all criminal code offences charged against women were for these offences, compared with only 17% of charges against men. In contrast, men were more likely than women to be charged with break and enter and other types of personal theft.

As with men, common assaults make up the large majority of violent charges against women. In 2004, 62% of all violent charges against women were for common assault. That year, women made up 18% of all those charged with simple assault. In contrast, the proportion of women charged with most other forms of violent crimes such as robbery (11%) and sexual assault (2%) was very low. The exception to this pattern is the relatively rare crime of abduction in which 56% of persons charged were female.

Adult women also account for a relatively large share of those charged with prostitution. In 2004, just under half (47%) of adults charged with prostitution were women. On the other hand, women made up only 15% of those charged with drug offences that year.

Young female offenders

Women between the ages of 15 and 18 years old have much higher levels of criminal activity than adult women. In 2004, there were 2,898 crimes for every 100,000 women 15 to 18, compared with a rate of 631 per 100,000 among women aged 19 and over. In fact, women aged 15 to 18 committed 22% of all property offences and 19% of violent offences that year, whereas they only represented 5% of the total population.

Crime rates among young women, though, are still much lower than they are among their male counterparts. In 2004, there were 2,147 crimes per 100,000 charged against females aged 15 to 18, compared with a rate of 10,084 among young men in this age range.

Young women are more proportionally likely than their older counterparts to engage in violent crimes. Women aged 12 to 17, for example, made up 26% of all youths charged with violent offences, whereas adult women made up only 16% of those aged 18 and over charged with violent crimes. At the same time, young women aged 12 to 17 made up 28% of youths charged with property crimes.

Women and homicide

Women make up a relatively small share of people accused of homicide. Among the 622 homicide incidents reported by police in 2004, only one in 10 of those accused of these crimes was female. That year, there were 58 women accused of committing a homicide, compared with 508 accused men.

Adult women under the age of 40 are the most likely to be accused of murder. In 2004, there were 0.9 murder charges for every 100,000 women aged 18 to 24, 25 to 29 and 30 to 39, whereas the murder rates were 0.2 or below for those in older age ranges. In all age ranges, homicide rates for women are well below those of men. (Chart 7.9)

Chart 7.9 Women and men charged with homicide per 100,000 population, by age, 2004

Female offenders in the courts

Since women make up a minority of those charged with criminal activity, they also represent a relatively small proportion of those dealt with by the courts. In 2003/04, 15% of the cases completed in adult criminal courts involved female defendants. As well, women who do appear in court are somewhat less likely than their male counterparts to be found guilty. In 2003/04, just over half (51%) of the cases against women resulted in a conviction, compared with a figure of 59% for men.

In addition, because women generally commit less serious crimes than men, they are more likely than their male counterparts to be sentenced to probation. In 2003/04, 40% of women convicted of an offence were given probation as their most serious sentence, compared with 29% of men found guilty. In contrast, women were less likely than their male counterparts to be sentenced to prison: 26% versus 38%. (Chart 7.10)

Chart 7.10 Distribution of most serious sentence of adult offenders, 2002-03

Women who are sent to jail typically receive shorter sentences than their male counterparts. In 2003, for example, the mean term for women sent to prison was 63 days, nearly half the figure for men whose mean prison term was 120 days. The fact that women receive shorter sentences than men is consistent across all offences, with the exception of attempted murder, criminal harassment, and drug trafficking.

Women small part of adults under correctional supervision

Women have historically represented a relatively small proportion of the correctional population in Canada. In 2003/04, women represented just 9% of those admitted to provincial or territorial custodial institutions. They also made up 17% of probation intakes. Both figures have varied little over the last 10 years.

Women constitute an even smaller proportion of admissions to the federal corrections system. In 2003/04, just 6% of those admitted to federal penitentiary were female, although this is double the figure in 1994/95 when women made up 3% of those admitted to federal penitentiaries.

Aboriginal representation among women admitted to provincial and territorial institutions was higher than that of men. In 2003/04, 27%¹² of remanded women and 31% of provincially/territorially sentenced women were Aboriginal. In comparison, 16% of male remand admissions and 20% of male sentenced custody admissions were Aboriginal. It is also important to note that this Aboriginal representation among women has increased substantially from ten years ago, from 17% in 1994/95 to 27% in 2003/04 for remand, and from 26% to 31% for provincial/territorial sentenced admissions.

Women held in provincial and territorial correctional institutions were slightly older than men. For example, 65% of women admitted to remand and 63% of women admitted to sentenced custody were between the ages of 25 and 44. This compared to 58% of male admissions to remand and 56% of male sentenced admissions. Slightly fewer women admitted to remand or sentenced custody were 18 to 24 years or 45 years or older.

As described earlier, women represent a relatively small proportion of those dealt with by the courts, proportionately fewer convictions, and receive shorter prison sentences than men. This finding is echoed in the amount of time that women serve in provincial or territorial institutions compared to men, where a larger proportion of men serve longer periods in sentenced custody than women. In 2003/04, while 70% of women admitted to sentenced custody spent 31 days or less in provincial or territorial institutions, only 54% of sentenced men had served 31 days or less in prison. In addition, women were more likely than men to have spent shorter periods of time in remand. For example, 62% of women compared to 54% of men had spent 7 days or less on remand.

Women in justice-related occupations

The number of females working as police officers, judges, lawyers, paralegals, probation and parole officers, and correctional service officers has grown over the past decades. By 2004, there were nearly 10,000 female police officers, constituting nearly 17% of all police officers in Canada. This is up from just 4% in 1986 and 12% as recently as 1998. (Table 7.6)

Table 7.6 Women as a percentage of police officers, by level, 1986 to 2004

In fact, women have accounted for almost all the growth in the number of police officers in recent years. In the period between 2000 and 2004, the number of female officers increased 29%, while the number of male officers inched up by only 3%. Currently, there are nearly five times as many women working as police officers as there were two decades ago. In comparison, the number of male officers has remained fairly stable over this same time period.

Canada has also done well in the recruitment of female police officers when compared with other nations. In an international comparison of 25 countries with the highest percentage of female police officers in 2000, Canada ranked seventh,¹⁴ ahead of the United States which ranked 13th, but behind countries such as Sweden, Norway and England and Wales.

There have also been increases in the representation of women among higher police ranks. In 2004, women represented 5% of senior officers,¹⁵ up from 2% in the late 1990s and less than 1% in the early 1990s. Indeed, the number of women among senior officers has increased ten-fold since 1991. In the same period, women as a proportion of noncommissioned police officers¹⁶ has risen from a half a per cent in the mid 1980s to almost 10% today.

As a result of female police recruitment in recent years, female officers tend to be younger than their male counterparts. In 2001, more than half of all female police officers were under the age of 35, compared to less than a third of male officers. However, with the growing representation of women among police officers and continued careers in law enforcement, as evidenced by their advancement into higher police ranks, this age difference between female and male officers is expected to diminish.

Female police officers also tend to have higher levels of education, on average, than do their male counterparts. In 2001, about one-quarter (27%) of female officers had earned a university degree, compared with 17% of male officers. At the same time, though, female (42%) and male (41%) officers were about as likely to have earned a college diploma or certificate.

The higher level of educational attainment for female police officers might be explained, at least partially, by the fact that police departments across the country generally recruit officers with higher levels of educational achievement. However, even among police recruits under the age of 25, the most likely to have recently entered policing, female police officers still have higher levels of education than their male counterparts.

There has also been notable growth in the number of women working in other occupations in the field of criminal justice, such as judges, lawyers, paralegals, probation and parole officers, and correctional service officers. In 2001, women made up 21% of judges, up from 14% a decade earlier. Similarly, more than a third (35%) of lawyers and Quebec notaries were women in 2001, up from 27% in 1991. Women have also become prominent among correctional service workers. In 2001, 29% of correctional officers were women, up from 22% in 1991. (Table 7.7)

Table 7.7 Women as a percentage of those employed in justice

Women continue to make up the majority of paralegals and probation and parole officers. Indeed, in 2001, 81% of paralegals were female, up from 76% a decade earlier. At the same time, women made up 54% of all probation and parole officers in 2001, compared with 50% in 1991.

Maggie Charmant, Andrea Taylor-Butts, Cory Aston, Sara Johnson, Karen Mihorean, and Valerie Pottie-Bunge are analysts with the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics

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Notes

1. These data are from a non-random sample of 120 police agencies, representing 58% of the national volume of crime.
2. The difference between these numbers is statistically significant.
3. There is no statistical difference between the 3% of women in current relationships who experienced violence and the 4% of men in current relationships who experienced violence.
4. Readers are cautioned that the results of the survey describe rates of violence committed against those who self-identified as Aboriginal, but they do not distinguish the identity of the perpetrator. In addition, this analysis does not include data from the three territories where high concentrations of Aboriginal people live. Ideally, the following analysis examining spousal violence rates of Aboriginal people would be conducted by comparing groups with similar socio-economic conditions. However, the sample size of the GSS is too small to support such detailed analysis.
5. This is an underestimate of the actual number of homicide victims during this time period because prior to 1974, infanticides and manslaughters were not recorded by the Homicide Survey.
6. For the purpose of this discussion, a homicide-suicide is defined as those homicide incidents cleared by suicide by police. The term homicide-suicide is used as opposed to murder-suicide because in the Canadian context, “murder” refers to a restricted set of incidents that do not include infanticide or manslaughter. As suicides following infanticides and manslaughters are included in this examination, we have chosen to refer to the general phenomenon as homicide-suicide.
7. Another 17 cases were excluded for having an unknown history of domestic violence. Since 1991 the Homicide Survey has been collecting data on whether or not a history of family violence between the suspect and victim was previously known to the police. It is important to note that the Homicide Survey does not identify the perpetrator of the violence, only that a history or pattern of violence between one of the victims and the accused person was present.
8. Only those victims who turn to the criminal justice system for help would have access to police-based or courtbased victim services.
9. Use with caution, coefficient of variation is high (16.6% to 33.3%).
10. This figure includes second stage housing, another emergency shelter or an out-of-province/territory shelter.
11. Adult victims of other domestic violence include adults who have experienced violence in the home by someone with whom they reside, other than by a partner. This includes adult secondary victims who have witnessed domestic violence, including witnessing partner abuse among a couple (e.g. an adult child who has witnessed the abuse of their mother by their father; a mother who has witnessed the abuse of her adult daughter by her son-in-law, etc.).
12. In order to allow for year-to-year comparisons, these values exclude Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories and Nunavut due to missing data for some years.
13. This represents the unique number of people who were involved in correctional services in 2003/04. However, persons may be involved in more than one type of correctional supervision in 2003/04, and therefore, counts are not mutually exclusive.
14. Economic and Social Data Ranking, Organization for Economic Cooperation Development(OECD): Share of female police personnel, 2000; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
15. Senior officers include police officers who have achieved the rank of lieutenant or higher.
16. Non-commissioned officers include police officers between the rank of constable and lieutenant, such as sergeant and corporal.