Section 3: Police-reported family violence against seniors in Canada, 2017

by Laura Savage

One-third of senior victims victimized by a family member

• In 2017, there were 11,380 senior victims (aged 65 to 89 years) of police-reported violence in Canada.^Note Note  Of this number, one-third (33%) were victimized by a family member such as a child, spouse, sibling or other family member (Table 3.1).
• Females accounted for over half (58%) of senior victims of family violence, and those senior females who were victims of family violence were most often victimized by a spouse (32%) (Table 3.1).
• The overall rate of police-reported family violence among seniors was 65 victims per 100,000 population in 2017. Physical assault had the highest rate for family violence against seniors (44 per 100,000 population) (Table 3.2).^Note 
• Between 2009 and 2017, the rate of police-reported family violence against seniors increased 6%, from 60 victims per 100,000 population in 2009 to 64 in 2017 (Chart 3.1).^Note  This increase was slightly smaller than the increase for non-family violence against seniors (+10%).

Over four in ten senior victims of police-reported family violence sustained an injury

•  A criminal incident is considered cleared when a charge is laid or recommended, or when it is dealt with by the police in another way (for example, through referral to a diversionary program). When it came to incidents that were cleared, family violence against seniors was more likely to result in a charge than non-family violence. For instance, in cases of physical assault, 62% of seniors who experienced family-related violence saw a charge laid, compared to 49% of victims of non-family related incidents that were cleared (Table 3.3).
• Over four in ten (44%) seniors of police-reported family violence sustained an injury, with the vast majority (93%) of these injuries being considered minor (Table 3.4).^Note 
• Just under two-thirds (63%) of senior victims of family violence had physical force used against them. This proportion was similar for senior victims of non-family violence (62%) (Table 3.4).
• The presence of weapons, such as firearms, knives and others, was slightly more common among senior male victims of family violence (20%) than female victims (17%) (Table 3.4).

Four in ten persons accused of police-reported violence against seniors victimized a family member

• When looking at incidents involving a single accused and a single victim, the same proportion of females and males accused of violence against seniors victimized a family member (39%) (Table 3.5).
• There were 3 female accused and 10 male accused persons of family violence against seniors per 100,000 population. When looking specifically at rates, males accused of family violence were more often seniors themselves (18 per 100,000 population), generally a spouse (Table 3.5).

Family violence against seniors more prevalent in rural areas

• Family violence against seniors was highest overall in Nunavut (1,606 victims per 100,000 population) and the Northwest Territories (1,230). In contrast, it was lowest in Ontario and Nova Scotia (47 and 53 victims per 100,000 population, respectively). Family violence against seniors increased 4% between 2016 and 2017, with Prince Edward Island recording the largest increase (+132%) (Table 3.6).^Note 
• Regardless of the sex of the victim, family violence against seniors was higher in rural areas (88 victims per 100,000 population) than urban areas (57) (Chart 3.2). The opposite was true for non-family violence where rates of violence against seniors were higher in urban areas (Table 3.7).^Note 
• Overall, rates of family violence were lower among seniors living in Canada's largest cities (census metropolitan areas or CMAs) than non-CMAs (56 victims versus 81 victims per 100,000 population, respectively). Among the CMAs, the rate of family violence against seniors was highest in Moncton (90 victims per 100,000 population), which was largely driven by the rate of violence against male seniors (115) (Table 3.8).^Note 
• The rate of family violence was higher for female seniors in the majority of Canada's CMAs. The exceptions were in St. John's, Moncton, Saguenay, St. Catharines-Niagara, Windsor, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Kelowna (Table 3.8).

Over one-third of family-related homicide of seniors motivated by frustration, anger or despair

• Family-related homicides occur within complex interpersonal contexts that can be difficult to capture through police-reported data.^Note  Nonetheless, an analysis of police-reported motives is important for violence prevention policy. Frustration, anger or despair (36%)—a range of emotions typical of offenders exerting control over victims—and argument or quarrel (34%) were the most common primary motives for family-related homicides of seniors between 2007 and 2017. In comparison, these motives accounted for a smaller proportion of non-family related homicide against seniors (26% and 18%, respectively) (Table 3.9).
• Between 2007 and 2017, the rate of family-related homicide among seniors overall decreased 20% (from 4.2 victims per 1 million seniors to 3.4), while the rate of non-family homicide against seniors increased 56% (from 2.8 victims to 4.4 per 1 million population) (Table 3.10).
• As with homicides in general, the non-family homicide rate was higher for male seniors than for females. In contrast, rates of family-related homicides of female seniors was double that of senior males (4.4 versus 2.2 victims per 1 million population, respectively) (Table 3.10).

Detailed data tables

Table 3.1 Senior victims of police-reported family and non-family violence, by victim sex and relationship of accused to victim, Canada, 2017

Table 3.2 Senior victims of police-reported family and non-family violence, by victim sex and type of violation, Canada, 2017

Table 3.3 Senior victims of police-reported family and non-family violence, by victim sex, type of violation and clearance status, Canada, 2017

Table 3.4 Senior victims of police-reported family and non-family violence, by sex of victim, type of weapon present and level of injury, Canada, 2017

Table 3.5 Persons accused of police-reported family and non-family violence against seniors, by accused sex, age group and relationship of accused to victim, Canada, 2017

Table 3.6 Senior victims of police-reported family violence and non-family violence, by victim sex and province or territory, 2016 to 2017

Table 3.7 Senior victims of police-reported family and non-family violence, by victim sex and urban or rural area, provinces, 2017

Table 3.8 Senior victims of police-reported family violence, by victim sex and census metropolitan area, 2017

Table 3.9 Senior victims of family-related and non-family homicide, by victim sex and type of motive, Canada, 2007 to 2017

Table 3.10 Senior victims of family-related and non-family homicide, by victim sex and year, Canada, 2007 to 2017

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