In 1991, the Parliament of Canada established The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women to commemorate the murders of 14 young women at École Polytechnique de Montréal on 6 December 1989, in a violent attack that was both misogynist and antifeminist. Every year, 6 December serves as a reminder that violence against women is still a timely and important issue in Canada and to reaffirm the country’s commitment to preventing and addressing gender-based violence against women.
This HillNote provides a definition of key concepts, statistics and federal government and Parliament of Canada initiatives that help provide a better understanding of the issue of gender-based violence against women in Canada.
Defining Gender-Based Violence against Women
Gender-based violence is all forms of violence that is perpetrated based on an individual’s gender expression, gender identity or perceived gender. While anyone can experience gender-based violence, the terms “gender-based violence” and “violence against women” are often used interchangeably, as women comprise the majority of victims of gender-based violence.
The European Institute for Gender Equality explains that the use of the term “gender-based violence” to refer to violence against women reflects the fact that often, this form of violence is deeply rooted in power inequalities between women and men and in sexist social and cultural norms.
Gender-based violence against women can be physical, sexual, financial or psychological; it can take place in public, private or online spaces. It can also take many forms, such as intimate partner violence, sexual violence, harassment, human trafficking, etc. UN Women estimates that a vast majority of violence against women is perpetrated by current or former intimate partners.
Some Key Statistics in Canada
According to Statistics Canada, the rate of violent victimization was nearly twice as high among women than men in 2019 (106 self-reported incidents per 1,000 women versus 59 self-reported incidents per 1,000 men). Additionally, “[even] after controlling for other factors of interest, such as age and other individual characteristics and experiences, the odds of being victimized were 38% higher for women than men.” As well, Statistics Canada data for 2021 show that rates of police-reported victimization are also higher among women and girls than among men and boys.
It is interesting to compare rates of victimization by type of criminal violation and by gender, as there is a significant difference between women and men. As Figure 1 shows, victimization rates are higher among women than among men for certain types of criminal offences, particularly for sexual offences (sexual assault) or offences that can be more directly linked to intimate partner violence (criminal harassment and indecent or harassing communications).
Figure 1 – Rates of Victimization by Gender and Type of Violation (2021)
Note: Rates are calculated per 100,000 population.
Source: Figure prepared by the Library of Parliament using data obtained from Statistics Canada, “Table 1: Victims of police-reported violent crime, by victim age group and gender, and type of violation, Canada, 2021,” Juristat.
Even when intimate partner violence is excluded, women are generally victims of violence by people they know. The results of the General Social Survey on Canadians’ Safety (Victimization) conducted by Statistics Canada in 2019 show that, for non-spousal incidents of violence, 39% of women reported having been victimized by a stranger, compared to 64% for men.
It is important to note that police-reported data are only a portion of incidents of victimization. The majority of incidents of victimization are not reported to police. Results from the General Social Survey on Canadians’ Safety (Victimization) show that women were half as likely as men to report incidents of violent victimization to police in 2019 (18% of women versus 36% of men), primarily due to the low reporting rate of sexual assaults, where the majority of the victims are women. The same year, sexual assaults had the lowest rate of reporting to police, with approximately 94% of incidents going unreported.
Intersectionality and Gender-Based Violence Against Women
Gender-based violence against women cannot be addressed without considering the concept of intersectionality. Gender can intersect with other identity factors and associated forms of oppression (e.g., racism, homophobia, transphobia and ableism) and create unique experiences of violence.
The findings of Statistics Canada’s 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces illustrate this reality (see Figure 2). A higher proportion of young women, bisexual, gay or lesbian women, Indigenous women and women with a disability reported experiencing unwanted behaviours in public spaces than other groups of women.
Figure 2 – Proportion of Individuals Who Reported Experiencing Unwanted Sexual Behaviours in Public Spaces in the 12 Months Preceding the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces, By Selected Characteristics (2018)
Note: Unwanted sexual behaviours include unwanted physical contact; indecent exposure; unwanted comments about sex or gender, sexual orientation or assumed sexual orientation; and unwanted sexual attention.
The term “Visible minority” has been used because Statistics Canada used the term in the 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces.
Source: Figure prepared by the Library of Parliament using data obtained from Statistics Canada, “Table 3: Unwanted behaviours in public spaces and online in the past 12 months, by gender and selected characteristic of victim, provinces, 2018,” Juristat.
The data presented in Figure 2 show the intersection of two factors: gender and another characteristic. Of course, women can be at the intersection of several of the characteristics presented in Figure 2, and this can expose them to unique experiences of gender-based violence. Intersectionality is useful in examining these unique experiences of violence and in identifying and developing customized resources for survivors.
The rates of violence against Indigenous women are particularly high in Canada compared to the rates for non-Indigenous women. According to the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, published in 2019, research found that “Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to be murdered or missing than any other women in Canada, and 16 times more likely than Caucasian women.” The report also explains that violence against Indigenous women “is rooted in systemic factors, like economic, social and political marginalization, as well as racism, discrimination, and misogyny, woven into the fabric of Canadian society.”
Parliament of Canada and Federal Government Initiatives
The federal government has introduced initiatives to prevent and address gender-based violence. The two initiatives below have been implemented in the past ten years:
- It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence: This strategy was launched in 2017 and coordinates federal government programming on gender-based violence. It is organized across three pillars: prevention, support for victims and survivors and a responsive justice system.
- National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence: The plan establishes a coordinated national approach between federal, provincial and territorial governments to prevent and address gender-based violence. The federal government has established bilateral funding agreements with some provincial and territorial governments to implement the plan.
At the Parliament of Canada, issues related to gender-based violence have been integrated into the work of parliamentary committees and into international diplomatic activities. Recent examples include:
- The House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women is the only parliamentary committee with a mandate to study issues related to the status of women and gender equality. The committee publishes regular reports on gender-based violence against women. It recently conducted studies on violence against women and girls in sport and violence against Indigenous women and girls in the context of resource development projects.
- As part of its parliamentary diplomacy activities, the Parliament of Canada regularly addresses the issue of violence against women parliamentarians. For example, Canada held a seat on the working group that developed the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie’s Politique-cadre pour prévenir et gérer le harcèlement psychologique et sexuel (policy framework for preventing and addressing psychological and sexual harassment) [in French].
By Dominique Montpetit, Library of Parliament
Categories: Health and safety, Social affairs and population