WOMEN’S PROGRAM

Only 10% of assaults are reported to police.

Only 10 % of sexual assaults on women and children are reported to the police.  With this stat in mind, it is estimated there are 509,809 reported and unreported sexual assaults in Canada per year, that is 1397 per day, which means that in Canada, every minute of every day, a woman or child is being sexually assaulted.  (Canada Research Institute for the Advancement of Women CRIAW Fact sheet, p2).

80% of women who have been sexually assaulted know their assailant.

 In cases reported to the police, only 20% of women who were survivors of sexual violence did not know their assailant. Of women who did know their assailant; 10% were assaulted by a friend, 41% were assaulted by an acquaintance, and 28% were assaulted by a family member.  The Daily, July 23, 2003, Statistics Canada.

Sexual abuse is always violent and painful.

80% of sexual assaults occur at home with 49% of them happening during the day. (Sexual Assault Care Centre, 1999, Myths and Facts About Sexual Assault.)

over half of female sexual assault survivors are under 18.

In 2000, the majority (54%) of female victims of sexual assault were under age 18 (20% were under age 12 and 34% were from 12 to 17 years old). Adult women aged 18 and over accounted for 45% of the female victims. (Canadian Crime Statistics 2000 - Catalogue no. 85-205, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada, 2001)

30% of married women have been sexually assaulted by their partner.

30% of women currently or previously married have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence at the hands of a marital partner. (Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile, Statistics Canada, 1999)