The Alberta Association of
Sexual Assault Centres
Working towards the eradication of sexual violence in Alberta
Sexual Assault Centres of Alberta
Fact Sheets
Women and Sexual Assault/Abuse
Children and Sexual Assault/Abuse
Women and Sexual Assault/Abuse
- 39% of Canadian women have experienced at least one incident of sexual assault since the age of 16 (Statistics Canada, 1993).
- Only 6% of these women report their experience of sexual assault to the police - the other 94% remain the silent majority (Statistics Canada, 1993).
- 58% of adult women in Alberta have experienced at least one incident of sexual or physical assault since the age of 16 (Statistics Canada, 1993).
- In 2000, 27,154 sexual offences were reported in Canada, including 24,049 sexual assaults and 3,105 other types of sexual offences (such as sexual touching, invitation to sexual touching, sexual exploitation, incest, sodomy and bestiality). Women made up the vast majority of victims of sexual assault (86%) and other types of sexual offences (78%) (Statistics Canada, 2001).
- Adult women sexually molested as children are more likely than non-victims to suffer from both physical and psychological problems. Abusive and manipulative offenders may target these women as victims in adult relationships because of their vulnerability (Moeller & Bachmann, 1993).
- 83% of Canadian women fear walking to their cars in a public garage after dark alone. 75% fear waiting for/using public transportation. 60% fear walking alone in their own area. 39% fear being at home alone (Statistics Canada, 1993).
- It is estimated that women with disabilities are 1.5 to 10 times as likely to be abused as non-disabled women, depending on whether they live in the community or in institutions (Sobsey, 1988).
- A 1991 Canadian study estimated that 40% of women with disabilities have had some experience with assault, sexual assault, or childhood sexual abuse (Stimpson & Best, 1991).
- A study (N=189) found that 20% of lesbians had experienced some form of emotional/psychological or physical violence in a relationship with a woman. Eleven percent had experienced physical violence, and 2% had been sexually assaulted in the relationship. The statistics are much lower than in male-female relationships, but it nevertheless remains an important issue, particularly because lesbians may not feel they can seek help from social services, police or the courts because of the stigma and discrimination around sexual orientation (Health Canada, 1998).
- Frontline organizations confirmed that racist and sexist attitudes toward Aboriginal women continue to make them vulnerable to sexual assaults in Canadian cities (Amnesty International, 2004).
- A 1999 report by the United States Department of Justice provides statistics on a range of violent crimes against Indigenous people in the U.S.A. According to this report, the rates of reported sexual assault are more than three times higher for Indigenous women than non-Indigenous women in the U.S. What is unique about Indigenous women's experience, according to this report, is that fully 70 percent of all violent crimes against Indigenous people in the US - and 90 percent of sexual assaults - are reported to be carried out by non-Indigenous people.
- Four percent of women over the age of 65 have experienced a sexual assault (Statistics Canada, 2005).
References
Amnesty International. (2004). Stolen Sisters: A Human Rights Response to Discrimination and Violence Against Indigenous Women in Canada. Retrieved October 14, 2005 from www.amnesty.ca/resource_centre/reports/view.php?load=arcview&article=1895&c=Resource+Centre+Reports
Health Canada. (1998). Abuse in Lesbian Relationships: Information and Resources. Retrieved October 10, 2005 from www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv- cnivf/familyviolence/html/femlesbi_e.html
Moeller, T.P., & Bachmann G.A. (1993). The combined effects of physical, sexual and emotional abuse during childhood: Long-term health consequences for women [Electronic version]. Child Abuse and Neglect, 17 (5), 623 - 640.
Sobsey, D. (1988). Sexual offenses and disabled victims: Research and practical implications. Vis-à-vis, 6 (4). 1 - 2.
Statistics Canada. (1993, November 18). The violence against women survey (Catalogue 11 - 001E). The Daily, 1 - 9.
Statistics Canada. (2001). Canadian crime statistics 2000 (Catalogue 85 - 205). Retrieved October 5, 2005 from www.sunsite.ualberta.ca/Canada/justice/statistics/2000_crime_e.pdf
Statistics Canada. (2005). Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile (Catalogue 85 - 224). Retrieved October 13, 2005 from www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/pdfs/85-224-XIE2005000.pdf
Stimpson, L., & Best, M. (1991). Courage above all: Sexual assault against women with disabilities. Toronto: Disabled Women's Network Canada (DAWN).
U.S. Department of Justice. (1991). American Indians and Crime. Retrieved October 14, 2005 from www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/aic.pdf
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