Overview

Abstract (English)

According to 2008 police-reported data, dating relationships accounted for more than one quarter of all violent incidents and almost one third of all homicides perpetrated by intimate partners. Among female victims, the highest rates of dating violence involved victims between the ages of 30 and 34 (591 per 100,000 unmarried population), while for males it was 35 to 39 years of age (132 per 100,000 unmarried population). More than 8 in 10 victims of police-reported dating violence were female, but this difference narrowed with age. Rates of dating violence were higher for female than male victims at a margin of nearly 10 to 1 for those 15 to 19 years of age, and decline with age, with near parity in rates for individuals 55 years of age and older. The most frequently committed violent offence in dating relationships was common assault (level 1) (50%), the least serious form of physical assault. Following common assault, other offences included criminal harassment (14%), uttering threats (12%), major assault (11%), indecent and harassing phone calls (6%), forcible confinement and related offences (3%), and sexual assault (3%). From 2004 to 2008, there has been a steady increase in rates of police-reported dating violence for both male and female victims across all age groups. Incidents involving female victims (71%) were more likely to result in police charges than those involving male victims (57%). Sex differences in charging were highest among youth 15 to 19 and narrowed by age group, with a similar proportion of incidents leading to charges for male and female victims 55 years of age and older. According to police-reported data, approximately 10% of male victims and 1% of female victims of dating violence involved same-sex dating relationships. The types of offences perpetrated in same-sex relationships, as well as the prevalence of injury and weapon use, did not differ substantially from incidents involving opposite-sex dating relationships.

Abstract (French)

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