Measuring Violence Against Women

Violence against women includes physical, sexual and psychological violence that can occur anywhere, including within the family unit. This fact sheet includes statistics on the first two types of violence against women only.

Spousal Assault

• According to the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS), which is conducted every five years by Statistics Canada, 7% of women living with a spouse, in either a common-law or marital relationship, reported being physically or sexually assaulted by their partner at least once during the previous five years. This represents 653,000 women in Canada and is an 8% decrease from 1999;
• Spousal violence represented more than half (53%) of all police-reported incidents of family violence in 2007, representing 12% of all violent crime in Canada;
• More than 80% victims of spousal violence were female, while 17% were male. Male victims of family violence were more likely to have been victimized by other family members, such as a parent or sibling;
• Police-reported rates of spousal violence declined steadily between 1998 and 2007 with an overall decrease of 17%. This was driven by a decrease in police-reported spousal violence committed against females;
• Charges are laid more often in instances where the victim of spousal violence is female (80% versus 66%), but the overall percentage of charges laid by police declined steadily between 2002 and 2007;
• While common assault was more often reported by female victims of spousal violence, major assault was more common among male victims of spousal violence;
• Age is found to be a risk factor for spousal homicide. Young couples have the highest spousal homicide rates; and,
• Alcohol abuse at the time of spousal assault incidents tends to result in more frequent assaults and higher levels of injury. According to the 2004 GSS, 44% of female victims indicated that their spouse had been drinking at the time of the assault compared to 24% of male victims. Although alcohol abuse is highly correlated with spousal abuse, it cannot be said to be the direct cause of violence.

Sexual Assault

• The 2004 GSS indicates that 3% of women reported being sexually assaulted in the previous 12 month period; this same survey, however, suggests that only 8% of sexual assaults are reported to police;
• While interviewing sexual assault survivors, the reasons behind women’s’ decisions not to report the assault to police include:
  • Believing that the police could not do anything to help them;
  • Wanting to keep the incident private;
  • Feeling ashamed or embarrassed;
  • Being reluctant to become involved with police and the courts;
  • Fearing that she would not be believed;
  • Not being sure the incident was a crime;
  • Not having sufficient proof;
  • Fearing the perpetrator; and,
  • Not wanting the perpetrator arrested or jailed (Kong et al. 2003; Lievore 2003).
• Women under the age of 25 show the highest rates of sexual assault and criminal harassment. These rates decline as age increases;
• In 2004, 86% of victims of sexual assaults reported to police were female. Only 38% of cases of sexual assault and 37% of sexual offences resulted in a conviction;
• While findings of guilt are less likely in cases of sexual offending than in other violent offences (49% versus 53%), sexual offenders are more likely to receive custodial sentences than are offenders of other violent acts (54% versus 30%); and,
• About 6 in 10 convictions of sexual assault (63%) and sexual offences (61%) result in a period of incarceration; however, conditional sentences were used more often in cases of sexual assault than in other cases of violent crime.

Criminal Harassment

• In 2004, 75% of all criminal harassment incidents reported to police were directed at women. Half of these reports were from women being stalked by a person with whom they had an intimate relationship. In 2004, 2,030 male partners were reported to police for stalking.

Psychological Impacts of Violence

• The GSS indicates that among women who use public transit, 58% were worried about their safety after dark while waiting or using public transit. Another 27% of women were worried about being alone at night in their home and 16% felt unsafe while walking alone after dark.

Physical Consequences

• Women are more than twice as likely as male victims to be physically injured by an intimate partner; six times more likely to receive medical attention; five times more likely to be hospitalized due to injuries; three times more likely to take time off work due to the consequences of violence; and twice as likely to report chronic, ongoing assaults.

1. Were physically injured
2. Feared for their lives
3. Took time off daily activities
4. Experienced ongoing assaults
5. Received medical attention
6. Were hospitalized

Note: Figures may not add up to 100% due to multiple responses.

Sources:

• Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 2004.
  
  
• Statistics Canada, Measuring Violence Against Women, Statistical Trends 2006.