Trends in police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence in Canada, 2023

Released: 2024-10-24

Rates for police-reported family violence (+3%) and intimate partner violence (+1%) increased in 2023. There were 139,020 victims of family violence and 123,319 victims (aged 12 years and older) of intimate partner violence that came to the attention of police—a rate of 350 victims of family violence and 354 victims of intimate partner violence per 100,000 population.

Today, the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics at Statistics Canada is releasing a series of downloadable data tables detailing the number and characteristics of victims of police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence (see Note to readers). This release presents high-level trends for these types of violence and reflects only incidents brought to the attention of the police. Past research has highlighted that these types of violence are often not reported to authorities. Younger and older victims—that is, children and youth and seniors—in particular may be unaware that they are being victimized, may not know how to seek help, may be unable to report their victimization, and may be dependent on the perpetrator. As such, the data presented here likely underestimate the full scope of the issue.

In this release, family violence and intimate partner violence include physical and sexual assault, harassment, uttering threats and other forms of violence that reach the criminal threshold. Family violence is violence committed by spouses, parents, children, siblings and extended family members, while intimate partner violence is violence committed by current and former legally married spouses, common-law partners, dating partners and other intimate partners. Victims of family violence and victims of intimate partner violence are not mutually exclusive groups, as victims of a current or former spouse or common-law partner are included in each group.

Larger increase in family violence and intimate partner violence for men and boys, though women and girls still overrepresented among victims

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%.

Chart 1 
Victims of police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence, by type of violence, gender and year, Canada, 2009 to 2023

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.

Family violence against children and youth reaches highest recorded level

In 2023, 26,777 children and youth (aged 17 years and younger) were victims of police-reported family violence. Of these, more than three in five victims (62%) were girls. Most often, family violence against children and youth was perpetrated by a parent (60%), while 16% was perpetrated by a sibling and 24% was perpetrated by another type of family member. While proportions varied, this pattern was similar for girls (55% of family violence was perpetrated by a parent, 17% was perpetrated by a sibling and 28% was perpetrated by another type of family member) and boys (67% of family violence was perpetrated by a parent, 14% was perpetrated by a sibling and 19% was perpetrated by another type of family member).

Police-reported violence against children and youth—family-related or otherwise—has increased considerably over time. The rate of family violence against children and youth reached 362 victims per 100,000 population (296 for children aged 11 years and younger, and 485 for youth aged 12 to 17 years) in 2023—the highest rate since comparable data became available in 2009. The rate was nearly twice as high for girls (439) as it was for boys (259) in 2023.

Compared with 2018, family violence against children and youth was 32% higher in 2023 (+35% for children; +25% for youth), with a larger increase being noted among girls (+28%) than boys (+24%). The overall increase was driven by assault level 1 (+36%), sexual assault level 1 (+28%), sexual interference (+23%) and assault level 2 (with a weapon or causing bodily harm) (+34%). Meanwhile, the rate of non-family violence against children and youth increased 42% (from 575 to 819 victims per 100,000 population) from 2018 to 2023.

Intimate partner violence highest for women and girls aged 12 to 24 years

By gender, the highest rate of police-reported intimate partner violence in 2023 was among women and girls aged 12 to 24 years (752 per 100,000 population), a rate nearly seven times higher than that for men and boys of that age group (111). Among all adults aged 25 to 64 years, the rate was more than three times higher for women (688) than for men (210). While intimate partner violence increased for adults aged 25 to 64 years (+22%) and seniors aged 65 years and older (+36%) since 2018, it decreased for youth and young adults aged 12 to 24 years (-3%).

In 2023, a firearm was present for 1.2% (1,038) of victims of intimate partner violence, and 84% of these victims were women and girls. The former percentage was higher than in 2018, when a firearm was present for 1.0% (762) of victims of intimate partner violence, 87% of whom were women and girls.

Family violence against seniors also reaches highest recorded level

In 2023, 7,054 seniors (aged 65 years and older) were victims of police-reported family violence. Of these victims, nearly 6 in 10 (57%) were women. Most often, family violence against seniors was perpetrated by their child (35%), by a spouse (27%), by a sibling (11%) and by another type of family member (27%). While senior women were more often victimized by a spouse (31%) than another type of family member (25%), the opposite was reported for senior men (21% were victimized by a spouse and 29% were victimized by another type of family member).

The rate of police-reported family violence against seniors increased substantially in recent years, reaching 94 victims per 100,000 population in 2023—the highest rate since comparable data became available in 2009. The rate was higher for women (99 victims per 100,000 population) than for men (87).

Compared with 2018, the rate was 42% higher in 2023, with a larger increase being noted among men (+46%) than women (+39%). The overall increase was driven by assault level 1 (+35%), assault level 2 (with a weapon or causing bodily harm) (+81%) and uttering threats (+31%). Meanwhile, the rate of non-family violence against seniors increased 28% (from 136 to 173 victims per 100,000 population) from 2018 to 2023.

Rates of family violence and intimate partner violence highest in the North, followed by the rural south and the urban south

Like other types of violent crime, rates of police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence were highest in the territories in 2023. Among the provinces, Saskatchewan (741 victims of family violence and 710 victims of intimate partner violence per 100,000 population) and Manitoba (588 victims of family violence and 628 victims of intimate partner violence per 100,000 population) had the highest rates. In contrast, Ontario (238 victims of family violence and 269 victims of intimate partner violence per 100,000 population) had the lowest rates. This order of the provinces was consistent with 2022 and 2018.

In 2023, rates of family violence and intimate partner violence varied by geographic region. As with other forms of violence, family violence was highest in the northern regions of Canada (1,062 victims per 100,000 population), which includes the northern regions of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the territories. The rate in the North was more than twice as high as the rate in rural southern regions (441) and nearly four times higher than the rate in urban southern regions (287). This pattern was similar to the rates for intimate partner violence, with the highest rate being in the North (1,073), followed by the rural south (393) and the urban south (299).

Regardless of the geographic region, rates were higher in 2023 than in 2018. From 2018 to 2023, in the North, family violence was 22% higher and intimate partner violence was 21% higher, while in the rural south, the rate of family violence was 20% higher and that of intimate partner violence was 17% higher. In the urban south, the rate of family violence was 16% higher and that of intimate partner violence was 12% higher. Meanwhile, overall violent crime increased 28% in the North, 25% in the rural south and 19% in the urban south from 2018 to 2023.

Chart 2 
Victims of police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence, by type of violence, geographic region and year, Canada, 2018 and 2023

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).