3. Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – article 10: right to life
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A PDF version of the Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is available on the index page.
3.1 Hopeful for the future
Figure 3.1 - Text description
| Sex | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 58% | 81%* |
| Women | 62% | 83%* |
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same sex (p<0.05)
- Notes: Respondents were asked to rate how often they had a hopeful view of the future on a 5-point scale with the following options: "always", "often", "sometimes", "rarely", "never". The estimates above refer to the proportion who reported they "always" or "often" hade a hopeful view of the future.
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same sex (p<0.05)
- Differences between men and women are statistically significant for both persons with and without disabilities (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Canadians at Work and Home, 2016 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities were less likely to report having a hopeful view of the future than those without disabilities. Among persons with disabilities, 58% of men and 62% of women with disabilities often or always had a hopeful view of the future. This compares to 81% of men and 83% of women without disabilities.
3.2 Having something to look forward to in life
Figure 3.2 - Text description
| Sex | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 64% | 86%* |
| Women | 70% | 85%* |
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same sex (p<0.05)
- Notes: Respondents were asked to rate how often they had a hopeful view of the future on a 5-point scale with the following options: "always", "often", "sometimes", "rarely", "never". The estimates above refer to the proportion who reported they "always" or "often" hade a hopeful view of the future.
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same sex (p<0.05)
- Differences between men and women are statistically significant for both persons with and without disabilities (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Canadians at Work and Home, 2016 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities were less likely than those without disabilities to report that they often or always had something to look forward to in life. Among persons with disabilities, 64% of men and 70% of women had something to look forward to in life. This compares to 86% of men and 85% of women without disabilities.
3.3 Low satisfaction with standard of living
Figure 3.3 - Text description
| Sex | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 24% | 9%* |
| Women | 20% | 9%* |
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same sex (p<0.05)
- Notes: Respondents were asked to rate how satisfied they were with their standard of living on a scale from 0 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied). Responses from 0 to 5 were combined to represent "low satisfaction".
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same sex (p<0.05)
- Differences between men and women are statistically significant only for persons with disabilities (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Canadians at Work and Home, 2016 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities were more likely to report low satisfaction with their standard of living than those without disabilities. Among persons with disabilities, 24% of men and 20% of women reported low satisfaction with their standard of living. This compares to 9% of men and women without disabilities.
3.4 Low satisfaction with life achievements
Figure 3.4 - Text description
| Sex | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 30% | 13%* |
| Women | 26% | 10%* |
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same sex (p<0.05)
- Notes: Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with what they were achieving in life on a scale from 0 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (completely satisfied). Responses from 0 to 5 were combined to represent "low satisfaction".
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same sex (p<0.05)
- Differences between men and women are statistically significant for both persons with and without disabilities (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Canadians at Work and Home, 2016 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities were more than twice as likely as those without disabilities to report low satisfaction with what they were achieving in life. Among persons with disabilities, 30% of men and 26% of women reported low satisfaction with their life achievements. This compares to 13% of men and 10% of women without disabilities.
3.5 Life dissatisfaction
Figure 3.5 - Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men+ | 26% | 9%* |
| Women+ | 27% | 8%* |
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities in the same gender category (p<0.05)
- Notes: Respondents were asked to rate how they felt about their life as a whole on a scale from 0 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied). Responses from 0 to 5 were combined to represent "dissatisfaction".
- To protect the confidentiality of non-binary persons, a two-category gender variable was used, given the relatively small size of this population in Canada. Non-binary respondents were redistributed into the men and women categories, denoted as “men+” and “women+” in charts and tables.
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities in the same gender category (p<0.05)
- Differences between men and women are not statistically significant for both persons with and without disabilities (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Social Identity, 2020 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities were around 3 times as likely as those without disabilities to report feeling dissatisfied with their life. Among persons with disabilities, 26% of men and 27% of women reported feeling dissatisfied with their life. This compares to 9% of men and 8% of women without disabilities.