Gender-Based Violence Resource Centre
GENERAL STATISTICS
40% of women & girls aged 15+ in Canada have reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence
Each year in Canada, roughly 362,000 children witness domestic violence. These children have double the rate of psychiatric disorders as children from non-violent homes.
In 2022, 78% of victims of intimate partner violence were women and girls. Mostly aged 12 to 24 years.
(Source: Stat Canada)
87% of women in federal prisons in Canada have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse in their lifetime.
The fastest-growing prison population in Canada is Indigenous & Racialized Women.
On any given night, more than 6,000 women and children in Canada sleep in shelters because it isn’t safe at home.
In recent years, Intimate Partner Femicide left at least 205 children without a mother and 7 children killed alongside their mothers.
(Source: The Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability)
40% of women & girls aged 15+ in Canada have reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence
Research by Statistic Canada found that between 2018 and 2022, the C3P noted an 815% increase in reports of online luring through cybertip.ca
Impacts Of Covid-19 On Gender-Based Violence
In a study by Ending Violence Association of Canada and Anova with GBV service providers, 82% of workers who noticed changes in GBV during the pandemic described an increase in prevalence and severity of the violence.
In recent years, Intimate Partner Femicide left at least 205 children without a mother and 7 children killed alongside their mothers.
(Source: The Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability)
Women and girls STILL face the greatest dangers.
- In Canada, 59% of women and girls who were murdered were killed by a family member and 46% were killed by an intimate partner.
- Although men and boys can also be impacted by violence, research shows 20% of men and boys who were murdered were killed by family members and 6% were killed by an intimate partner.
(Source: Stat Canada)
Rural Women, Firearms And Femicide
Women in rural areas are at a higher risk of being murdered than urban women. When we add firearms to the mix, which are more common in rural areas, the risk of femicide increases even more.
Gun ownership increases the risk of femicide. One study showed that domestic violence incidents with a firearm make death for the woman 12x more likely.
In 2022, Saskatchewan (730 victims) and Manitoba (585 victims) had the highest provincial rates of police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence, a total of 1,315 victims.
- Women living in rural areas in Canada were twice as likely to experience IPV compared to women in urban cities
(Source: Stat Canada)
Workplace Violence And Harassment
53% of survivors of domestic violence said that at least one type of abuse happened at or near their workplace.
30% women in Canada have experienced unwanted sexual behaviours in the workplace.
Youth And Violence
44% of Canadian women who experienced sexual violence were victimized by a friend or acquaintance.
In a 2019 survey with 2000+ youth in Toronto conducted by Aura Freedom found that over 60% of participants believed that Canadian society promotes and upholds Rape Culture
20% of people who answered the Trans-Pulse survey, have been physically and/or sexually assaulted simply by being trans, and 34% had been verbally threatened or harassed.
63% of university students in Ontario have experienced some form of sexual violence at school.
Migrant Women And Gender-Based Violence
According to Statistics Canada’s survey on residential facilities for victims of abuse:
- Immigrants tend to experience more discrimination at their place of work and when applying for jobs
- Shelters often have an overrepresentation of non-permanent residents who come to escape abuse and exploitation
- Migrant workers are less likely to rely on the police for support due to victimization and violence
Migrating often results in new mothers having little to no social support, leading to feelings of loneliness and isolation which contribute to vulnerabilities to violence and exploitation.
Women Living With Disabilities
For women living with disabilities, the risk of violence increases when:
- They are racialized
- They are Indigenous
- They are younger
- They identify as LGBTQ2S+
- They are migrant workers
- They live in rural/remote areas
- They are immigrant/newcomers
24% of women with a cognitive disability were sexually abused before age 15.
- Rape mythology says sexual violence is caused by a woman’s sexual desirability (clothing, body, behaviour, etc.) as opposed to acts of dominance by men over women.
- Ableism is preference for able-bodies over disabled bodies.
- The combination of the two make women with disabilities a ‘perfect target’ for abusers when society believes no one would assault a women who is labelled as ‘undesirable’
(Source: DisAbled Women’s Network)