Statistics Canada Article on Self-Reported Victimization

The Statistics Canada publication Juristat has published an article entitled Self-reported victimization, 2014:

"In addition to collecting police-reported data annually through the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR), every five years Statistics Canada conducts the General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization which asks Canadians to self-report victimization for eight offence types. Data from the GSS inform us on the victimization experiences of Canadians aged 15 years and older, including incidents not brought to the attention of the police (...)"

"This Juristat article presents the first results from the 2014 GSS on Victimization. The analysis provides insight on the nature and extent of criminal victimization in the 10 provinces. The report also examines the factors associated with the risk of being the victim of a crime, the consequences of victimization, and the reporting of incidents to police."

The 8 offence types that are part of the survey are: sexual assault, robbery, physical assault, theft or attempted theft of personal property, break and enter, theft of motor vehicle or parts, theft of household property, vandalism.

Among the highlights:

• Just under one-fifth of Canadians aged 15 years and older reported being the victim of one of the eight offences measured by the 2014 General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization, down from just over a quarter in 2004.
• Victimization rates for all crimes measured by the 2014 GSS were lower than those reported 10 years earlier, with the exception of sexual assault, which remained stable. From 2004, the violent victimization rate fell by 28%, while the household victimization rate decreased by 42% and the rate of theft of personal property declined by 21%.
• Unlike previous GSS cycles on victimization that found similar violent victimization rates among males and females, women posted a higher rate than men in 2014. This was mainly due to the relative stability of the sexual assault victimization rate—of which the majority of victims are women—while the victimization rate of other violent crimes declined.
• Being young was the main contributing factor to the risk of violent victimization.
• Mental health was the second most influential factor associated with the risk of violent victimization in 2014.
• According to the GSS, in 2014 just over one-quarter of violent incidents involved a weapon and just under one in five violent incidents resulted in injury to the victim. In about half of violent incidents (excluding spousal violence) the victim knew the offender.
• According to the GSS, just under one-third (31%) of criminal incidents were brought to the attention of the police in 2014, a proportion slightly lower than 10 years earlier, when 34% of incidents were reported. The proportions of incidents reported to the police ranged from 50% for break-ins to as little as 5% for sexual assaults.