Criminal justice outcomes of police-reported sexual assault in Canada, 2015 to 2019
Released: 2024-11-06
The criminal justice process can be long, with numerous potential points of attrition from the crime to a final decision. Attrition refers to how, as incidents progress through the system, fewer cases remain or are retained throughout the entirety of the process.
Attrition can occur for various reasons. For instance, some victims may choose not to report an incident or participate in the criminal justice process to avoid potential revictimization and additional trauma. In other instances, police or courts may determine that there is insufficient evidence to lay charges or secure a conviction in criminal court. Further, a case may be handled outside of court, such as through a plea bargain or referral to alternative measures.
Examining attrition of sexual assault over time and in relation to other types of violent crime can uncover important patterns that could inform policies and practices. It is important to consider the particularly sensitive nature of sexual crimes, the unique barriers that are acutely present for victims of sexual assault, and the numerous stereotypes and myths related to sexual violence.
The Juristat article "Criminal justice outcomes of sexual assault in Canada, 2015 to 2019," released today, examines the progression of sexual assault incidents through the criminal justice system, from police to courts. It focuses on the characteristics of incidents, victims and accused persons associated with different outcomes at various stages of the process.
Most sexual assault incidents are not reported to police
The first and most substantial potential point of attrition for sexual assault is whether it is reported to police. Information on the extent to which certain crimes come to the attention of police is available from household surveys, which measure the prevalence of victimization among the general population and key details such as whether experiences of victimization are reported to police. While it is not possible to directly combine self-reported data with data reported by police, the two sources are complementary and provide additional context.
For instance, according to the 2019 General Social Survey on Canadians' Safety, the most recent available source of self-reported data on this subject, 6% of all sexual assault incidents were reported to police. In comparison, 36% of physical assaults were reported to police.
Approximately one in three sexual assaults reported by police results in charges
When sexual assaults are reported to police, administrative police-reported data permit a more detailed exploration of the characteristics of victims, incidents, and accused persons. From 2015 to 2019, police services in Canada reported 115,859 sexual assaults. Consistent with past trends, the vast majority (98%) were classified as level 1, meaning an assault of a sexual nature that violates the sexual integrity of the victim. Nearly 9 in 10 victims (89%) were women and girls.
Of all sexual assaults reported by police during this time, approximately one-third (36%) resulted in charges being laid or recommended by police. Of these, 61% subsequently went to court. In contrast, when looking at all violent offences, a higher proportion (77%) of incidents where charges were laid proceeded to court.
Just under half of completed adult criminal court cases linked to sexual assault result in a finding of guilt
Just under half (48%) of all completed adult criminal court cases linked to an incident of sexual assault during the period from 2015 to 2019 resulted in a finding of guilt. This was the same as the proportion of cases linked to physical assault that resulted in a finding of guilt (48%), and slightly lower than the proportion of those linked to violent crime overall (52%).
From 2015 to 2019, the most common sentencing outcome for persons found guilty of any charge in a case linked to sexual assault was custody (50%). A smaller proportion (34%) of persons found guilty in a case linked to physical assault was sentenced to custody.
Chart 1
Selected outcomes and decisions, incidents of sexual assault and physical assault, Canada, 2015 to 2019
Few police-reported sexual assaults result in a sentence of custody
Just over one in five police-reported incidents of sexual assault (22%) during the period from 2015 to 2019 proceeded to court. Of these, just under half (48%) resulted in a finding of guilt, and of those, 50% resulted in a sentence of custody. Altogether, 5% of sexual assaults reported to police resulted in a sentence of custody.
In contrast, two in five physical assaults (40%) went to court, where just under half (48%) resulted in a finding of guilt, of which 34% resulted in a sentence of custody. This means that 6% of physical assaults reported to police ended up with an accused person sentenced to custody.
For more information, see Figure 1 in the Juristat article "Criminal justice outcomes of sexual assault in Canada, 2015 to 2019."
Sexual assaults classified as more serious are more likely to result in charges and custody sentences
The severity of sexual assaults considerably affected pathways through the criminal justice system, with lower levels of attrition noted among those classified as more serious (e.g., level 2 sexual assault, involving a weapon or bodily harm, or level 3 aggravated sexual assault). This was most evident in the differences in charge rates: around 6 in 10 level 2 (59%) and level 3 (62%) sexual assaults resulted in charges, compared with just over one-third (35%) of those classified as level 1.
Another difference was observed in the proportion of guilty cases that resulted in a sentence of custody. Over three-quarters (78%) of cases linked to level 3 sexual assault and 60% of cases linked to level 2 sexual assault resulted in a custodial sentence, compared with 50% of cases linked to level 1 sexual assault.
Delays in reporting incidents to police related to higher attrition from police to courts
Previous analysis of police-reported sexual assault data has shown that delays between the incident and it being reported to police are more likely than for other types of violent crime. This has been linked to numerous potential factors, such as emotional trauma, fear of being blamed, and feelings of shame. Data from police and courts suggest that delays also have important implications for attrition.
From 2015 to 2019, close to two-thirds (64%) of sexual assaults reported the same or the next day proceeded to court. However, this dropped to less than half (47%) when the incident was reported more than one year after it occurred. Of those that proceeded to court, cases linked to sexual assaults reported on the same day or the following day had the highest proportion resulting in a finding of guilt (51%), compared with about 4 in 10 of those that had a longer delay.
Gender and accused–victim relationship associated with varying police and court outcomes
The characteristics of sexual assault victims or incidents were also associated with different outcomes. For instance, charges were laid or recommended more often when the victim was a woman or girl (38%) than when the victim was a man or boy (29%).
However, outcomes in terms of court retention were much more comparable between women and girls (61%) and men and boys (60%). Once in court, smaller proportions of sexual assault cases where the victim was a woman or girl resulted in a conviction (48% when the victim was a woman or girl versus 51% when the victim was a man or boy) or a custodial sentence (51% when the victim was a woman or girl versus 56% when the victim was a man or boy).
The relationship between the victim and the accused person was also associated with differences in outcomes at multiple stages. For instance, 54% of intimate partner sexual assaults resulted in charges being laid or recommended, higher than any other type of accused–victim relationship. However, at other stages (e.g., continuing to court, sentencing), intimate partner sexual assault was more in line with the general trends.
In contrast, sexual assaults committed by a stranger had lower charge rates (28%) but were more likely to continue to court (69%) and result in a finding of guilt (56%), compared with sexual assaults where the accused was known to the victim.
Trends in justice outcomes of sexual assault
In addition to examining the progression of police-reported sexual assault from 2015 to 2019 through the criminal justice system, the findings were also compared with the previous five-year period (2010 to 2014).
Compared with the 2010-to-2014 period, police-reported sexual assaults from 2015 to 2019 were less likely to result in charges, less likely to proceed to court, less likely to result in a guilty finding and less likely to result in a sentence of custody.
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Note to readers
Police-reported sexual assault is classified according to the Criminal Code, which defines sexual assault in three categories, depending on the nature and severity of the assault. Level 1 sexual assault comprises any assault of a sexual nature that violates the sexual integrity of the victim. Level 2, which is considered more serious than level 1, includes sexual assault involving a weapon, threats to a third party or bodily harm. Level 3, considered the most serious, is aggravated sexual assault that involves wounding, maiming or disfiguring, or endangering the life of the victim.
Data on self-reported sexual assault and levels of reporting to police are from the 2019 General Social Survey on Canadians' Safety (Victimization). For more information, see The Daily ― Criminal victimization in Canada, 2019.
For detailed analysis on recent trends in the clearance status of sexual assault following revisions to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey, see The Daily ― Recent trends in police-reported clearance status of sexual assault and other violent crime in Canada, 2017 to 2022.
This Juristat article uses a data file that linked police-reported data from the UCR Survey with administrative data from the Integrated Criminal Courts Survey (ICCS). Police-reported incidents after January 1, 2010, where an accused person was identified by police, were considered in-scope for linkage with ICCS data up to the end of 2021/2022.
Not all levels of court in all provinces and territories in Canada currently report data to the ICCS. In addition, as of the production of this release, Quebec had not yet provided ICCS data for 2021/2022.
For ICCS data, the primary unit of count is the case. A case is defined as one or more charges against an accused person or company that were processed by the courts at the same time and received a final decision. A case combines all charges against the same person that have one or more key overlapping dates (date of offence, date of initiation, date of first appearance, date of decision or date of sentencing) into a single case.
A case that has more than one charge is represented by the charge with the "most serious offence" (MSO). The MSO is selected using the following rules. First, court decisions are considered and the charge with the "most serious decision" (MSD) is selected. Court decisions for each charge in a case are ranked from most to least serious as follows: 1) guilty; 2) guilty of a lesser offence; 3) acquitted; 4) stay of proceeding; 5) withdrawn, dismissed and discharged; 6) not criminally responsible; 7) other; and 8) transfer of court jurisdiction. Second, in cases where two or more charges result in the same MSD (e.g., guilty), Criminal Code sentences are considered.
Some incidents that did not successfully link to a completed charge may still be before the courts, particularly in recent years where the linkage rates were noticeably lower. Further, recent years were likely impacted by delays, closures, and modifications to criminal court processes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and related measures. As the ICCS data include only completed charges and cases, those which are still active in the court system are not reflected in this linkage. For that reason, two distinct periods were used for analysis: 2010 to 2014 and 2015 to 2019.
Products
The article "Criminal justice outcomes of sexual assault in Canada, 2015 to 2019" is now available as part of the publication Juristat (85-002-X). The infographic "Sexual assault incidents in Canada: From the police to criminal courts" (11-627-M) is also released today.
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).
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