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Abstract
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Juristat, Vol. 43, no. 1
Description: This Juristat analyzes police-reported data of homicides involving women and girls who were killed by an intimate partner, family member, within the context of sex work as well as those who experienced sexual violence. Some data on the attempted murder of women and girls are also presented. Overall, it provides information on rates of victimization, and the characteristics of victims, incidents and accused persons.
-For the purposes of this Juristat, gender-related homicides of women and girls are solved homicides committed by a male accused who: (a) was an intimate partner or family member of the victim, (b) inflicted sexual violence on the victim as part of the killing or (c) killed a victim who was identified as a sex worker.
- Between 2011 and 2021, police reported 1,125 gender-related homicides of women and girls in Canada. Of these homicides, two-thirds (66%) were perpetrated by an intimate partner, 28% a family member, 5% a friend or acquaintance and the remaining 1% a stranger.
- While the rate of gender-related homicide of women and girls has generally declined since 2001, there was a 14% increase between 2020 and 2021 (from 0.48 to 0.54 victims per 100,000 women and girls), marking the highest rate recorded since 2017.
- In 2021, the territories recorded the highest rate of gender-related homicide of women and girls (3.20 per 100,000 women and girls) and, for the provinces, the highest rate was in Saskatchewan (1.03), followed by Manitoba (0.72) and Alberta (0.68).
- In 2021, the rate of gender-related homicide in Canada was more than 2.5 times greater in rural areas compared to urban areas (1.13 versus 0.44 per 100,000 women and girls).
- Between 2011 and 2021, of all gender-related homicides of women and girls, the largest proportion died by stabbing (34%). About four times as many victims of gender-related homicide died of strangulation, smothering or drowning (17%) compared to victims of non-gender-related homicides (4%).
- One-third (32%) of gender-related homicides of women and girls were reported by police as motivated primarily by the accused’s anger, frustration or despair, almost triple the proportion found among non-gender-related homicides (12%).
- Over the 11-year period (i.e., 2011 to 2021), one in five (21%) persons accused of a gender-related homicide where at least one woman or girl was killed resulted in the suicide of the accused, seven times higher than what was found among persons accused of committing a non-gender-related homicide (3%).
- Data between 2011 and 2021 show that of all gender-related homicides of women and girls, 21% (n=233) of victims were Indigenous, despite comprising only 5% of the female population in Canada in 2021.
- In 2021, the rate of gender-related homicide of Indigenous victims was more than triple that of gender-related homicides of women and girls overall (1.72 versus 0.54 per 100,000 women and girls).
Data between 2011 and 2021 show that compared to the gender-related homicide of women and girls overall, when the victim was Indigenous a larger proportion were younger and died by beating.
- In 2021, there was a rate of 0.27 gender-related attempted murders per 100,000 women and girls in Canada.
- The rate of gender-related attempted murder of women and girls has been on the decline since 2017, except for 2019 where the rate increased from 0.29 victims in 2018 to 0.41 victims per 100,000 women and girls.
- Between 2011 and 2021, the largest proportion of gender-related attempted murders of women and girls occurred at residential locations, involved the presence of a weapon and resulted in physical injury. |