New Statistics Canada Report on Victim Services

Statistics Canada today released a new report on services for victims of crime in Canada.

The data is based on responses to a questionnaire from 697 victim services agencies and 8 criminal injuries compensation programs across Canada. Statistics Canada also took a snapshot on April 19, 2006, a day on which 636 victim service agencies in Canada reported serving 8,080 people.

On that day:

• The majority (72%) were victims of violent crime, such as sexual and physical assaults. Another 24% of clients experienced other types of incidents, such as property crimes, other criminal offences, or non-criminal incidents including suicides, drownings or motor vehicle collisions;
• Over two-thirds (68%) of victims who sought assistance on the snapshot day were female;
• Among female victims who had experienced a violent crime, 53% had experienced violence by a spouse, ex-spouse or intimate partner. A further 24% had been victimized by a family member other than a spouse;
• In contrast, 49% of males had been victimized by a non-family member, and 28% were victimized by a family member other than a spouse. The remaining approximate one-quarter had experienced violence at the hands of a spouse, ex-spouse or intimate partner.

The data has also been broken down by province and territory.