Statistics Canada Articles on Violent Victimization and Discrimination

Last week, the Statistics Canada publication Juristat published 3 articles on violent victimization and discrimination:

• Violent victimization and discrimination, by religious affiliation in Canada, 2014
• Violent victimization and discrimination among visible minority populations, Canada, 2014
• Violent victimization, discrimination and perceptions of safety: An immigrant perspective, Canada, 2014

Among the highlights: 

• According to the 2014 General Social Survey on Canadians' Safety (Victimization), individuals who reported no religious affiliation experienced a higher rate of violent victimization (113 incidents per 1,000 population) than Christians (67 per 1,000 population). This difference was in large part attributed to age as individuals with no religious affiliation tended to be younger. People who reported a religion other than Christianity (72^E per 1,000 population) experienced violent victimization at a rate similar to Christians.
• People affiliated with a non‑Christian religion were significantly more likely to report experiencing discrimination on the basis of their religion in the previous five years than Christians (11% compared to 1%). 
• Between 2004 and 2014 there was a significant decline (-44%) in the rate of violent victimization among the visible minority population. The decrease was much larger than that of the non-visible minority population (-25%).
• Visible minorities reported being physically assaulted at a far lower rate than non-visible minorities but were equally as likely to report having been sexually assaulted. 
• Canadian-born visible minorities experienced violent victimization at a rate almost five times higher than that of their immigrant counterparts. 
• One in five (20%) members of the visible minority population reported experiencing some form of discrimination in the five years preceding the survey. Of these, over three in five (63%) believed that they were discriminated against because of their race or skin colour.
• Visible minorities expressed lower levels of satisfaction than non-visible minorities on three out of six indicators of police performance: being approachable and easy to talk to (62% versus 67%), providing information on ways to prevent crime (51% versus 57%), and treating people fairly (59% versus 63%).
• In 2014, there was a marked decline (-43%) in self‑reported violent victimization rates among immigrants compared to what was reported in 2004 (39 incidents versus 68 incidents per 1,000 population); among the non‑immigrant population, a decline of 26% was reported over the same time period (86 versus 116 incidents per 1,000 population).
• In 2014, violent victimization rates were similar between immigrant men and women. This was not the case among the non‑immigrant population where women were found to be at a higher risk for victimization than men.
• Although most violent incidents against an immigrant did not lead to serious physical injuries, most had negative emotional consequences. About one in ten violent incidents led to symptoms that align with those associated with post‑traumatic stress disorder.
• The large majority of immigrants who were victims of violent crime did not believe their victimization was motivated by hate (76%). However, they were more likely than non‑immigrants to report that the violence was gang‑related.
• More than half (53%) of immigrant victims of violence did not report the incident to police. Of all victims who reported the incident to police, immigrants were more likely to have been dissatisfied with police action than non‑immigrants.
• Experiences of discrimination were more commonly reported by immigrants (17%) than non‑immigrants (12%). This was more common among recent immigrants, those who had immigrated to Canada after 2004 than established immigrants, those who had immigrated to Canada earlier (20% versus 16%).
• Immigrants who had experienced discrimination most often reported this occurring at work or when they were applying for a job or promotion (54%) and the most common reasons cited were their ethnicity or culture (54%) or their race or skin colour (47%). Recent immigrants were more likely to experience discrimination because of their language than established immigrants (42% and 27%, respectively).