Measuring violence against women: The Canadian experience

1. Measuring violence against women: The Canadian experience François Nault Director, Statistics Canada November 2013

2. Statistics Canada data sources to measure violence against women Police-reported administrative surveys • Uniform Crime Reporting Survey • Homicide Survey Self-reported victimization survey • General Social Survey on Victimization Other administrative surveys • Transition Home Survey (shelters for abused women) • Victim Services Survey Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

3. Police statistics – Uniform Crime Reporting Survey • Collecting aggregate police statistics since 1962. • In 1988, it began collecting micro data from police services. • Victim and accused characteristics • Incident characteristics • Relationship of victim and accused • Number of police services covered in the micro data increased steadily over the years. The coverage now stands at 99%. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

4. Women almost four times more likely than men to be victims of intimate partner violence, 2011 Rate per 100,000 population Source: Statistics Canada, Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

5. Police statistics – Homicide Survey • Homicide Survey began in 1961 • Began collecting data on family-related homicides in 1974 • In 1991, 1997, and 2005, the survey was revised and expanded • Relationship categories • Previous conviction history • History of domestic violence • Victim’s use of force at the time of the homicide Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

6. Rates of intimate partner homicide declined by half in last 20 years Source: Statistics Canada, Homicide Survey. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

7. Advantages and disadvantages of police-reported data Advantages • Annual statistics • Standard measure over time and among cities and provinces • Based on physical evidence and witnesses • Mandatory survey Disadvantages • No victim information exists for non-violent crime, such as financial abuse (e.g., theft, forgery, fraud) • No information about the consequences of violence beyond physical injury • Includes only those incidents that come to the attention of police, which is a greater issue for intimate partner violence and sexual violence Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

8. Self-reported victimization surveys • Canadian Violence Against Women Survey (VAWS) • One-time sample survey of Canadian women aged 15 years and older conducted in 1993 • Conducted by phone • General Social Survey on Victimization • Began in 1988, repeated every five years • Sample survey of Canadians aged 15 years and older • Conducted by phone Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

9. Lessons learned from the Violence Against Women Survey (VAWS) • The importance of early and transparent consultation with stakeholders and potential critics to ensure the utility and relevance of the data. • The need to use recognized definitions for measuring social phenomenon (e.g., Criminal Code). • The need to have collection approaches and mechanisms that are appropriate given the sensitivity of the subject matter (i.e., sensitivity training, sex of interviewers). • The importance of establishing in advance an analytical framework that will produce policy relevant “information”, not just numbers. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

10. Building from the VAWS experience • Statistics Canada considered options for integrating the survey content within an existing population-based survey. • It was decided to develop a special module on spousal violence within the General Social Survey (GSS). The questions contained in this module were modelled off the VAWS. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

11. Self-reported victimization surveys Improvements to the GSS with each cycle • 1988: First general victim survey • 1993: Better measures of sexual assault • 1999: Special modules to measure spousal violence, now repeated with every victimization cycle • 2004: Special module on criminal harassment/stalking • 2009: Cybercrime and experiences of victimization before the age of 15 • 2014: Expansion of questions on victimization in childhood and new questions on dating violence and witnessing spousal violence as a child. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

12. Women more likely to experience severe forms of spousal violence, 2009 * * † reference category * significantly different from reference category (p < 0.05) Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey on Victimization. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

13. Dealt with another way: Top reason for not reporting spousal violence to police, 2009 * † reference category * significantly different from reference category (p < 0.05) Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey on Victimization. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

14. Advantages and disadvantages of self-reported data Advantages • Allows examination of crime that goes unreported to police • Provides information on non-violent forms of spousal abuse (i.e., emotional and financial abuse) • Captures information on consequences of victimization, levels of reporting to police, children’s exposure to spousal violence and social service utilization Disadvantages • Possible exclusion of certain population groups of women - those living in institutions and those unable to communicate in English or French • Voluntary: relies on willingness of Canadians to participate • Subject to sampling error Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

15. Two additional surveys Transition Home Survey • Mail survey to all shelters in Canada • Bi-annual • Characteristics of shelters and services • One-day snapshot of women and children residents Victim Services Survey • Mail survey to all victim services • Characteristics of victim services • One-day snapshot of victims provided service Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada

16. Analysis and dissemination • Collecting data on violence against women and men is not enough. Gender-based analysis of data is critical to ensuring the information is relevant to both policy and programs. • Statistics Canada is committed to conducting robust analysis on women’s experience of victimization and making these findings publicly available (e.g., recent release of ‘Measuring Violence Against Women: Statistical Trends’ - February 2013) • Future efforts will continue to link record within and across surveys to further strengthen analysis and address information gaps. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada