Sexual assault is a highly gendered crime, with women and girls accounting for 9 in 10 victims (90%) of incidents reported to police in 2022. The vast majority (96%) of accused persons were men and boys, and most victims (74%) knew the person accused of the crime.
Previously, in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey, criminal incidents were recorded by police as unfounded when there was not enough corroborating evidence.
In 2018, a new definition of "founded" crime was implemented in the UCR Survey. This change in the standard practice reflects a shift to a more victim-centred approach, in which police record criminal incidents as founded—that is, the reported incidents had in fact occurred—unless there is evidence demonstrating that incidents had not taken place.
This change has a significant impact because more reported victim experiences are now captured by police data. For victims of sexual assault, this is particularly relevant because of the challenges that often exist in obtaining evidence for this type of crime.
The Juristat article "Recent trends in police-reported clearance status of sexual assault and other violent crime in Canada, 2017 to 2022," released today, examines trends following the implementation of revised coding practices. Analysis includes a focus on clearance status, as well as victim, accused person and incident characteristics, comparing results from 2017 with the years that followed revisions to the UCR Survey.
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