Statistics Canada Data on Family Violence and Intimate Partner Violence

Statistics Canada recently released new data tables that describe Trends in police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence in Canada, 2023:

"From 2009—the first year that comparable data are available—to 2014, rates of police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence generally declined from one year to the next. This was followed by several years of gradual increases then relative stability from 2021 to 2022. However, in 2023, family violence increased 3% and intimate partner violence increased 1%."

"From 2018 to 2023, police-reported violent crime increased 20%. Over the same period, overall rates of family violence (+17%) and intimate partner violence (+13%) also rose. Increases were noted regardless of gender, although they were larger for men and boys (+19% for family violence and +20% for intimate partner violence) than for women and girls (+15% for family violence and +12% for intimate partner violence)."

"Despite larger increases having been observed among men and boys since 2018, women and girls remain overrepresented among victims of family violence and intimate partner violence. In 2023, women and girls accounted for two-thirds (68%) of victims of family violence and nearly four in five victims of intimate partner violence (78%). The rate of family violence for women and girls (473 victims per 100,000 population) was twice as high as that for men and boys (220), while the rate of intimate partner violence was nearly four times higher for women and girls (549 victims per 100,000 population) than for men and boys (155)."

"Victims of intimate partner violence may not report their experience to authorities for a variety of reasons, such as the belief that it is a private or personal matter, or a lack of trust in the criminal justice system. It should be noted that some research has shown that men and boys who experience intimate partner violence may be more reluctant to report it to authorities because of the stigma surrounding male victims."