Table 6
Characteristics of the most serious incident, by type of victimization and gender of victim, Canada, 2025

Table 6
Characteristics of the most serious incident, by type of victimization and gender of victim, Canada, 2025 Table summary
The information is grouped by Selected characteristics of the most serious incident (appearing as row headers), Sexual assault, Physical assault, Women†, Men, Women†, Men, 95% confidence interval, 95% confidence interval, 95% confidence interval and 95% confidence interval, calculated using percent1, percent1, percent1, percent1, from , to , from, to, from, to, from and to units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Selected characteristics of the most serious incident Sexual assault Physical assault
Women Table 6 Note † Men Women Table 6 Note † Men
percent Table 6 Note 1 95% confidence interval percent Table 6 Note 1 95% confidence interval percent Table 6 Note 1 95% confidence interval percent Table 6 Note 1 95% confidence interval
from to from to from to from to
Note F

too unreliable to be published

Note *

significantly different from reference category (p < 0.05)

Return to note&nbsp;* referrer

Note †

reference category

Return to note&nbsp;† referrer

Note 1

Percent calculations include missing or not stated responses but are not displayed unless they represent 5% or more of total responses.

Return to note&nbsp;1 referrer

Note 2

Includes incidents where the perpetrators were all or mostly gender diverse (single or multiple perpetrators), where there were multiple perpetrators of different genders that were equally divided, or where the respondent did not know the gender of the perpetrator or perpetrators. Victims may not necessarily know their perpetrator’s gender identity. In situations where the perpetrator’s gender identity is unknown, respondent responses may be based on the perpetrator’s gender expression, which refers to the way a person presents their gender, regardless of their gender identity, through body language, aesthetic choices or accessories (e.g., clothes, hairstyle and makeup).

Return to note&nbsp;2 referrer

Note: Excludes physical and sexual assault committed by an intimate partner, which was collected using a different methodology. The category “Women+” includes women, as well as some non-binary respondents and some respondents who did not state their gender, while the category “Men+” includes men, as well as some non-binary persons and some respondents who did not state their gender.
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces.
Location of the incident  
Private residence, property, or surrounding area 40.0 35.3 44.8 32.5 25.4 40.5 39.6 34.9 44.6 24.9 Table 6 Note * 21.6 28.5
Commercial or institutional establishment 38.1 33.4 43.0 44.9 37.0 53.0 25.1 21.2 29.6 21.6 18.5 25.2
Street or other public place 14.1 10.9 18.1 12.8 8.1 19.5 26.2 22.0 30.8 40.7 Table 6 Note * 36.7 44.7
Other 6.1 4.2 8.7 7.5 4.1 13.4 7.4 5.2 10.3 11.8 Table 6 Note * 9.4 14.6
Number of perpetrators  
One 85.9 82.3 88.8 77.3 Table 6 Note * 69.4 83.7 85.4 81.8 88.4 78.6 Table 6 Note * 75.3 81.6
More than one 12.4 9.6 15.9 19.2 13.4 26.7 13.0 10.1 16.6 20.3 Table 6 Note * 17.4 23.7
Gender of perpetrator  
Single perpetrator (man) or multiple perpetrators (all or mostly men) 91.2 88.3 93.5 44.0 Table 6 Note * 36.3 52.1 74.7 70.3 78.6 76.6 73.0 79.8
Single perpetrator (woman) or multiple perpetrators (all or mostly women) 4.2 2.7 6.6 36.8 Table 6 Note * 29.5 44.8 15.7 12.5 19.5 10.5 Table 6 Note * 8.2 13.3
Other Table 6 Note 2 2.8 1.6 4.9 13.7 Table 6 Note * 9.0 20.3 7.0 5.0 9.8 10.4 8.2 13.2
Not stated F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published 2.6 1.5 4.5 2.5 1.5 4.1
Relationship to perpetrator  
Stranger 25.1 21.2 29.4 21.8 15.8 29.3 31.3 27.0 36.0 52.3 Table 6 Note * 48.1 56.4
Someone known to the victim 73.2 68.8 77.2 74.0 65.9 80.7 66.7 61.9 71.1 46.4 Table 6 Note * 42.3 50.5
Presence of a weapon  
Yes 3.2 1.8 5.4 5.6 3.0 10.2 15.8 12.7 19.6 31.1 Table 6 Note * 27.6 34.9
No 87.2 83.7 90.0 83.0 75.4 88.6 70.6 66.1 74.7 56.2 Table 6 Note * 52.2 60.1
Don't know 7.2 5.1 10.0 8.0 4.1 14.9 12.0 9.3 15.3 12.1 9.6 15.1
Victim sustained physical injuries  
Yes 15.6 12.4 19.4 9.6 Table 6 Note * 5.9 15.3 25.4 21.5 29.9 23.4 20.1 27.0
No 81.9 78.1 85.2 86.6 79.9 91.4 73.1 68.6 77.1 76.0 72.4 79.3
Victim was emotionally impacted by the incident  
Yes 64.3 59.6 68.8 49.4 Table 6 Note * 41.4 57.5 62.6 57.9 67.1 39.6 Table 6 Note * 35.8 43.6
No 32.4 27.9 37.1 46.5 Table 6 Note * 38.4 54.8 35.0 30.6 39.7 58.9 Table 6 Note * 54.9 62.8
Three or more longer-term emotional impacts consistent with PTSD  
Yes 29.3 25.1 33.9 24.4 18.0 32.2 31.8 27.3 36.6 16.1 Table 6 Note * 13.3 19.3
No 67.1 62.5 71.5 70.8 62.6 77.9 65.5 60.7 70.1 82.3 Table 6 Note * 79.0 85.1
Incident reported to police  
Yes 8.7 6.3 11.8 8.4 4.8 14.3 25.1 21.3 29.3 29.6 26.1 33.3
No 88.4 85.1 91.1 88.8 82.2 93.1 73.1 68.8 76.9 69.3 65.5 72.8
Talked to someone for support  
A family member 34.8 30.3 39.6 23.0 Table 6 Note * 16.7 30.9 49.7 45.0 54.4 47.2 43.1 51.4
A friend or neighbour 51.8 47.0 56.6 47.7 39.4 56.2 44.4 39.6 49.3 38.2 34.3 42.2
A co-worker 13.3 10.3 16.9 10.1 6.0 16.5 24.5 20.5 29.0 23.6 20.3 27.3
A doctor or nurse 11.8 9.0 15.2 7.6 4.4 13.0 12.7 10.0 16.1 7.2 Table 6 Note * 5.4 9.5
A lawyer 2.0 1.0 4.3 F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published 3.0 1.8 5.0 4.4 3.1 6.4
A priest, rabbi, imam, elder, or other spiritual advisor F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published 2.5 1.3 4.5 1.9 1.1 3.4
Other 6.3 4.3 9.1 9.1 5.3 15.3 11.4 8.7 14.7 9.5 7.5 12.1
No 21.4 17.9 25.5 29.8 22.7 38.1 16.0 12.8 19.8 22.1 Table 6 Note * 18.9 25.7
Contacted or used victims' services for help  
Yes 17.3 14.0 21.3 15.6 10.8 21.9 22.3 18.5 26.7 9.8 Table 6 Note * 7.7 12.5
No 80.3 76.2 83.8 82.2 75.5 87.4 76.0 71.6 79.9 89.1 Table 6 Note * 86.3 91.4
Blamed or made to feel responsible for the incident  
Yes 32.4 28.1 37.0 27.1 20.7 34.6 32.4 28.1 37.0 21.9 Table 6 Note * 18.8 25.4
No 64.6 59.9 69.0 69.4 61.7 76.1 65.8 61.2 70.1 76.7 Table 6 Note * 73.2 79.9
Changed behaviour as a result of the incident  
Yes 80.0 75.0 84.3 71.3 59.8 80.5 79.0 74.0 83.2 74.8 68.4 80.2
Avoiding certain places 45.3 39.4 51.3 42.9 32.3 54.3 42.6 37.0 48.5 43.7 37.6 50.1
Avoiding certain people or situations 46.4 40.5 52.3 45.2 34.2 56.6 49.4 43.7 55.2 45.9 39.7 52.2
Changing the way you present yourself in public 35.5 29.9 41.5 37.6 27.6 48.8 24.3 19.5 29.8 23.7 18.7 29.5
Carrying something to defend yourself or alert others 24.0 19.3 29.4 17.9 10.7 28.3 19.8 15.5 25.0 18.3 14.0 23.6
Becoming withdrawn from social events or activities you typically enjoy 36.2 30.8 41.9 38.8 28.3 50.4 31.4 26.0 37.3 24.6 19.7 30.2
Staying home in order to avoid similar experiences 38.7 33.0 44.7 41.0 30.6 52.3 29.1 23.8 35.0 26.8 21.6 32.8
Other 8.3 5.5 12.3 6.0 2.7 13.1 11.8 8.6 15.9 9.2 6.2 13.3
No 14.5 11.0 19.0 19.9 12.1 30.9 16.9 13.1 21.6 21.3 16.3 27.3
Not stated 5.4 3.4 8.7 F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published F too unreliable to be published 4.1 2.4 6.9 4.0 2.2 7.1
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