Child and Youth Victims of Police-reported Violent Crime, 2008 - ARCHIVED

While they may be young, children and youth under the age of 18 fall victim to the same types of violence as adults including physical and sexual assault, robbery, criminal harassment and homicide. They can be victimized by a family member, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger while in their own home, in their neighbourhood or at school. Quantifying the incidence of violent victimization against children and youth continues to be a challenge. In Canada, detailed information about police-reported violent incidents committed against children and youth is collected through the Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR2) Survey. This report analyzes the nature and extent of police-reported violence committed against children and youth under the age of 18. It examines differences in victimization based on sex and age of victims, type of offence, prevalence across the provinces and territories, relationship to the perpetrator, weapon used and level of injury. It also presents information on trends over time.