Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers 83 Self-reported spousal violence, 2009 • The 2009 General Social Survey (GSS) found that self-reported spousal violence remained stable from 2004, when the survey was last conducted. Similar to 2004, 6% of Canadians with a current or former spouse reported being physically or sexually victimized by their spouse in the 5 years preceding the survey. • The proportion of Canadians who reported spousal violence was similar across the majority of provinces. The exceptions were in Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec where the proportions were below the national average. • Overall, the seriousness of violence experienced in spousal incidents remained stable between 2004 and 2009. The proportion of victims who reported the most serious forms of spousal violence such as being sexually assaulted, beaten, choked or threatened with a gun or knife was similar to 2004. • Younger Canadians were more likely to report being a victim of spousal violence than were older Canadians. Those aged 25 to 34 years old were three times more likely than those aged 45 and older to state that they had been physically or sexually assaulted by their spouse. • In 2009, victims of spousal violence were less likely to report the incident to police than in 2004. Just under one-quarter (22%) of spousal violence victims stated that the incident came to the attention of the police, down slightly from 2004 (28%). • In addition to physical and sexual violence, many Canadians also reported being the victim of emotional and financial abuse. As in 2004, close to one in five (17%) Canadians said that they had experienced some form of emotional or financial abuse in their current or previous relationship, with put-downs and name calling being the most common form of abuse. Police-reported family violence against children and youth, 2009 • Police-reported data for 2009 indicate that children and youth under the age of 18 were most likely to be sexually victimized or physically assaulted by someone they knew (85% of incidents). • Nearly 55,000 children and youth were the victims of a sexual offence or physical assault in 2009, about 3 in 10 of which were perpetrated by a family member. • Six in ten children and youth victims of family violence were assaulted by their parents. The youngest child victims (under the age of three years) were most vulnerable to violence by a parent. FAMILY VIOLENCE IN CANADA A STATISTICAL PROFILE
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