Table 4
Characteristics of homicide victims associated with completed court cases by gender-related status, criminal courts, Canada, 2009/2010 to 2020/2021


Table 4
Characteristics of homicide victims associated with completed court cases by gender-related status, criminal courts, Canada, 2009/2010 to 2020/2021
Table summary
This table displays the results of Characteristics of homicide victims associated with completed court cases by gender-related status. The information is grouped by Victim characteristic (appearing as row headers), Gender-related homicides of women and girls, Non-gender-related homicide of women and girls and Homicide of men and boys, calculated using number, percent and percent guilty units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Victim characteristic Gender-related homicide of women and girlsTable 4 Note 1 Non-gender-related homicide of women and girlsTable 4 Note 2 Homicide of men and boysTable 4 Note 3
number percent percent guilty number percent percent guilty number percent percent guilty
Age group
0 to 11 years 29 5.9 62.1 24 7.4 45.8 45 1.8 48.9
12 to 17 years 27 5.5 70.4 20 6.2 65.0 123 5.0 46.3
18 to 24 years 65 13.2 56.9 59 18.2 57.6 583 23.5 50.1
25 to 34 years 104 21.1 63.5 62 19.1 38.7 608 24.5 48.0
35 to 44 years 85 17.2 63.5 58 17.8 55.2 402 16.2 46.0
45 to 54 years 68 13.8 50.0 26 8.0 50.0 386 15.6 53.4
55 to 64 years 57 11.6 49.1 20 6.2 65.0 209 8.4 58.9
65 years and older 58 11.8 51.7 56 17.2 35.7 125 5.0 53.6
Unknown 0 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable 0 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable 0 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable
Total 493 100.0 58.0 325 100.0 49.2 2,481 100.0 50.1
Gender
Men and boys 29 5.9 62.1 47 14.5 42.6 2,481 100.0 50.1
Women and girls 464 94.1 57.8 278 85.5 50.4 0 0.0 Note ...: not applicable
Total 493 100.0 58.0 325 100.0 49.2 2,481 100.0 50.1
Marital status
Married 115 23.7 40.9 38 12.3 47.4 222 9.6 47.7
Living common law 111 22.8 70.3 42 13.6 71.4 358 15.4 55.9
Never married (not living common law) 139 28.6 59.0 158 51.3 45.6 1,373 59.1 49.6
Separated (not living common law) 73 15.0 68.5 30 9.7 50.0 206 8.9 56.8
Divorced (not living common law) 23 4.7 52.2 11 3.6 36.4 126 5.4 43.7
Widowed (not living common law) 25 5.1 60.0 29 9.4 44.8 37 1.6 59.5
Unknown 7 Note ...: not applicable 28.6 17 Note ...: not applicable 47.1 159 Note ...: not applicable 39.6
Total 493 100.0 58.0 325 100.0 49.2 2,481 100.0 50.1
Indigenous identityTable 4 Note 4
Not an Indigenous person 374 77.8 58.8 218 68.3 47.2 Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published
Indigenous victim 107 22.2 57.0 101 31.7 52.5 Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published
Unknown 12 Note ...: not applicable 41.7 6 Note ...: not applicable 66.7 Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published Note F: too unreliable to be published
Total 493 100.0 58.0 325 100.0 49.2 2,481 100.0 50.1
Missing at time of deathTable 4 Note 5
Yes 35 15.3 51.4 29 16.6 58.6 60 5.2 48.3
No 194 84.7 56.7 146 83.4 44.5 1,101 94.8 45.5
Unknown 0 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable 0 Note ...: not applicable Note ...: not applicable 2 Note ...: not applicable 50.0
Total 229 100.0 55.9 175 100.0 46.9 1,163 100.0 45.7
Previous convictions
Yes 89 18.1 56.2 106 32.8 47.2 1,462 59.5 48.8
No 403 81.9 58.3 217 67.2 50.2 997 40.5 51.7
Unknown 1 Note ...: not applicable 100.0 2 Note ...: not applicable 50.0 22 Note ...: not applicable 68.2
Total 493 100.0 58.0 325 100.0 49.2 2,481 100.0 50.1
Primary method used to cause death
Shooting 76 15.8 67.1 67 20.9 61.2 648 26.3 41.0
Stabbing 175 36.4 57.1 99 30.8 53.5 940 38.2 53.7
Beating or blows 113 23.5 53.1 76 23.7 43.4 643 26.1 50.1
Strangulation, suffocation, drowning 90 18.7 62.2 27 8.4 40.7 88 3.6 59.1
Other methodTable 4 Note 6 27 5.6 33.3 52 16.2 38.5 143 5.8 65.7
Unknown 12 Note ...: not applicable 83.3 4 Note ...: not applicable 50.0 19 Note ...: not applicable 26.3
Total 493 100.0 58.0 325 100.0 49.2 2,481 100.0 50.1
... not applicable
0 true zero or a value rounded to zero
F too unreliable to be published
Note 1

Gender-related homicide cases are solved homicides committed by at least one male accused who killed at least one female victim who was an intimate partner or family member of the accused, who was sexually assaulted during the killing, or who was identified by police as a sex worker.

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Note 2

Non-gender-related homicides of women and girls require that no gender-related criteria are present in the case, but involve at least one female victim.

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Note 3

Homicide cases of men and boys require that no female victims were killed in the same incident.

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Note 4

Indigenous identity is reported by the police and is determined through information found with the victim, such as status cards, or through information supplied by the victims' families, community members, or other sources (i.e., such as band records, or forensic evidence such as genetic testing). Reliable information on the Indigenous identity of men and boys who are victims of homicide is only available beginning in 2014 and, as such, is not reported in the table.

Return to note 4 referrer

Note 5

Collection of this information on the Homicide Survey began in 2015 and data presented reflect information on homicide victims killed since that time.

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Note 6

Includes drug overdoses, poisoning or lethal injections, smoke inhalation or burns, exposure or hypothermia, abusive head traumas (previously referred to as shaken baby syndrome), motor vehicle impacts or collisions, neglect or failure to support life and other methods.

Return to note 6 referrer

Note: Victims and accused persons for whom gender was reported as unknown by police are excluded from this table. Represents all completed cases successfully linked to a homicide reported by police in Canada between 2009 and 2021. Incidents may not have linked to courts data for multiple reasons, including survey coverage and time required to complete a case. See "Data sources and methodology" for more details about the linkage and methodology. Percent calculations exclude unknown marital status, Indigenous identity, whether the victim was reported missing at the time of death, previous conviction and method of killing.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Homicide Survey and Integrated Criminal Courts Survey linked file.
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