Highlights

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Spousal homicide or attempts and prior police contact for spousal abuse
Family violence against children and youth
Family violence against older adults

Spousal homicide or attempts and prior police contact for spousal abuse

• Results from a subset of linked police records from 1995 to 2005 reveal that for nearly three-quarters of spousal homicides or attempted spousal homicides, the perpetrator had no prior arrest history for spousal abuse during the study time frame. For those with a history of spousal violence, most were ‘repeat offenders’ who had between 1 and 3 incidents of spousal violence reported to police prior to the spousal homicide or attempt.

• The proportion of males accused of spousal homicide or attempted homicide was 3.5 times greater than their female counterparts to be ‘repeat offenders’, and were also more likely to be ‘chronic offenders’. For 9 in 10 females who killed or attempted to kill their husbands, the homicide or attempt was their first spousal violence offence reported to police during the 11-year time frame (93%). This compares to nearly 7 in 10 males accused of killing or attempting to kill their wives (69%).

• For over one-third of spousal homicides or attempts (37%), the elapsed time between the last incident of spousal abuse reported to police and the homicide was less than 6 months. Another 18% of spousal homicides/attempts occurred within 6 months to 2 years of previously police-reported spousal abuse. For female victims of spousal homicide/attempted homicide, the window between the most recent episode of abuse and the lethal or near lethal violence was shorter than it was for male victims of spousal homicide/attempted homicide.

• Just over three-quarters (78%) of spousal incidents reported to police prior to the homicide or attempt showed no escalation in the severity of the violence. Despite prior police intervention, 22% of victims of spousal homicide or attempted homicide reported an increase in the severity of the violence to the police before the lethal or near lethal incident.

• Police laid charges in the majority (84%) of spousal incidents leading up to the spousal homicide or attempted homicide. For the remaining prior spousal incidents that were reported to police, victims requested that police not press charges (8%) or the incident was cleared otherwise (8%), such as the accused being committed to a mental hospital or referred to a community-based or diversionary program.

Family violence against children and youth

• Data from a subset of 122 police services in 2005 indicate that children and youth under 18 years of age are at greatest risk of being physically or sexually assaulted by someone they know. The rates of physical and sexual assault were highest when the accused was a friend or acquaintance (348 per 100,000), followed by a family member (200 per 100,000) or a stranger (120 per 100,000).

• The rate of physical assault of children and youth by a parent was 3 times higher than the rate of sexual assault (124 victims compared to 39 per 100,000 children and youth). Rates of physical and sexual assault committed by siblings were identical (29 per 100,000), while the rate of sexual assault by an extended family member was double the rate of physical assault (27 compared to 13 per 100,000).

• Nearly 4 in 10 child and youth victims of family violence sustained a physical injury in 2005 (37%). Male victims were more likely to sustain injuries than were females (44% compared to 33%).

• According to the Homicide Survey, in 2005 there were 60 homicides committed against children and youth under the age of 18 across Canada. Over one-third of these homicides were committed by family members.

• The majority of family-related homicides against children and youth in 2005 were committed by parents (71%). Fathers are more likely than mothers to be the perpetrators.

• Infants (less than 1 year of age) experienced higher rates of family-related homicide than older children. In the most recent 10-year period (1996 to 2005), over one-quarter of children and youth killed by a family member were infants (28%). Baby boys tend to be at greater risk than baby girls (40 male victims compared to 27 female victims per million infants).

• Young parents are disproportionately represented among those accused of killing their child. Despite representing only 2% of all parents, young parents (between the ages of 15 and 24) were responsible for 60% of homicides against infants and 14% of homicides against children and youth.

• According to police-reported data in 2005, approximately 2,634 violent incidents were committed against a parent by their son or daughter. The mother was the victim in 7 in 10 violent incidents inflicted by their son or daughter.

• Most violent incidents committed by a son or daughter against a parent were common assaults (60%), followed by uttering threats (18%) and major assaults (17%).

• The age group most often involved in incidents of violence against a parent were 12- to 17-year olds (46%), followed by 18- to 24-year olds (27%).

Family violence against older adults

• Police-reported data consistently show that seniors (aged 65 years and over) have the lowest risk of being victims of violent crime. In 2005, seniors represented 2% of all victims of violent crime, or a rate of 160 incidents for every 100,000 seniors. This rate was 2.5 times lower than that of 55 to 64 year olds (404 per 100,000), and 14 times lower than 15 to 24 year olds or the age group at highest risk (2,317 per 100,000).

• Similar to all victims of crime, senior victims were more likely to be victimized by someone they knew (88 per 100,000) than by a stranger (51 per 100,000). Among perpetrators known to senior victims, friends or acquaintances were the most common, followed by their adult children and current or ex-spouses.

• While the overall rates of violence against seniors were higher for senior men, rates of family-related violence were higher for senior women (47 versus 36 per 100,000).

• Senior victims of family violence were most likely to be victimized by an adult child (15 per 100,000) or current or former spouse (13 per 100,000). In comparison, persons under 65 years of age were most often victimized by their spouse, followed by a parent or sibling.

• Older seniors (aged 85 years and over) were less likely to be victims of family violence (22 per 100,000) compared to younger seniors aged 75 to 84 years of age (34 per 100,000) and 65 to 74 years of age (52 per 100,000).

• Over half (53%) of family violence against seniors does not result in physical injury to the victim. When physical injuries are sustained, they are generally minor in nature (37%) resulting from the aggressor’s use of physical force.

• In 2005, four in ten homicides against seniors were committed by a family member (44%). Another one-third of seniors were killed by an acquaintance (31%), 17% by a stranger, and the remaining homicides were unsolved.

• Senior female victims killed by a family member were most likely to be killed by their spouse (37%) or adult son or step-son (37%). Senior male homicide victims were most likely to be killed by their adult son or step-son (57%).