Highlights

Warning View the most recent version.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

  • According to the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS), visible minorities experienced rates of violent victimization, including sexual assault, robbery and physical assault that were similar to non-visible minorities (98 incidents compared with 107 incidents per 1,000 population).
  • While victimization rates were similar for visible minorities and non-visible minorities between the ages of 15 and 24, visible minorities in the older age groups (25-to-34 years and 35 years and over) experienced lower victimization rates than their non-visible minority counterparts. 
  • Canadian-born visible minorities experienced rates of violent victimization that were three times higher than visible minority immigrants and two times higher than non-visible minorities. However, certain factors that are associated with a higher risk of victimization are more common among Canadian-born visible minorities. For example, a higher proportion of Canadian-born visible minorities are between the ages of 15 and 24, unmarried and unemployed compared to their counterparts.
  • About 47% of visible minority females and 39% of males reported that they would use public transportation alone after dark more often if they felt safer, compared to 29% and 22% of non-visible minorities.
  • Visible minorities were less likely than non-visible minorities to rate the police at doing a good job with tasks that were related to police accessibility and attitudes such as: being approachable and easy to talk to, supplying the public with information on ways to reduce crime and treating people fairly.  
  • Visible minorities were more likely than non-visible minorities to feel that loitering, people sleeping on the streets, harassment and attacks motivated by racial intolerance and prostitution posed a problem in their neighbourhoods.
  • The proportion of visible minorities who felt they had experienced discrimination was twice that of non-visible minorities. Overall, 81% of visible minorities who felt that they had experienced discrimination believed that it was because of their race or ethnic origin.