4. Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – article 16: freedom from exploitation, violence, and abuse
On this page
- 4.1 Intimate partner violence (IPV) since the age of 15
- 4.2 Symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of intimate partner violence (IPV)
- 4.3 Physical abuse by an intimate partner
- 4.4 Emotional or financial abuse by an intimate partner
- 4.5 Childhood sexual assault before the age of 15
- 4.6 Childhood physical assault before the age of 15
- 4.7 Victim of incident(s) of crime
Alternate formats
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.
4.1 Intimate partner violence (IPV) since the age of 15
Figure 4.1 – Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 44% | 32%* |
| Women | 55% | 37%* |
* significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same gender (p<0.05)
- Notes: Intimate partner violence includes psychological violence, physical violence, and sexual violence. “Intimate partner” is defined broadly and includes current or former legally married spouses, common-law partners, dating partners, and other intimate partner relationships. The estimates above exclude respondents who reported that they had never been in an intimate partner relationship.
- The Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces used a two-step question in order to ask respondents their sex at birth and their gender. This report is based on respondents’ gender; non-binary persons are not included within presented gender categories. Data on experiences of intimate partner violence specific to the transgender and non-binary population are not presented due to small sample size.
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same gender (p<0.05)
- Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Safety in Private and Public Spaces, 2018, data retrieved from Intimate partner violence in Canada, 2018: An overview (Statistics Canada calculations).
Persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over were more likely to have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime (since the age of 15) than those without disabilities. Among persons with disabilities, 44% of men and 55% of women experienced IPV in their lifetime. This compares to 32% of men and 37% of women without disabilities.
4.2 Symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of intimate partner violence (IPV)
Figure 4.2 – Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 10% | 2%* |
| Women | 18% | 8%* |
* significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same gender (p<0.05)
- Notes: Intimate partner violence (IPV) includes psychological violence, physical violence, and sexual violence. “Intimate partner” is defined broadly and includes current or former legally married spouses, common-law partners, dating partners, and other intimate partner relationships. Respondents were asked about long term effects of their IPV experiences, which included having nightmares, feeling numb or detached, avoidance and hyperarousal. These effects resemble symptoms that are consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but do not constitute a diagnosis.
- The estimates above refer to the proportion who reported symptoms consistent with PTSD in the past month as a result of IPV, among persons who experienced some form of IPV in the past 12 months.
- The Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces used a two-step question in order to ask respondents their sex at birth and their gender. This report is based on respondents’ gender; non-binary persons are not included within presented gender categories. Data on experiences of intimate partner violence specific to the transgender and non-binary population are not presented due to small sample size.
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same gender (p<0.05)
- Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Safety in Private and Public Spaces, 2018, data retrieved from Intimate partner violence: Experiences of women with disabilities in Canada, 2018 (Statistics Canada calculations).
Among persons who had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) in the preceding 12 months, those with disabilities (10% of men and 18% of women) were more likely than those without disabilities (2% of men and 8% of women) to report experiencing symptoms consistent with PTSD in the past month.
4.3 Physical abuse by an intimate partner
Figure 4.3 – Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 4% | 2%* |
| Women | 4% | 2%* |
* significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same gender (p<0.05)
- Notes: “Intimate partner” is defined broadly and includes current or former legally married spouses, common-law partners, dating partners, and other intimate partner relationships.
- The estimates above exclude respondents who reported that they had never been in an intimate partner relationship and those who stated that they had not had contact with any current or former intimate partner in the past 12 months.
- Physical abuse refers to physical assault (e.g., hitting, choking, shaking) or the threat of physical assault (e.g., threatening to harm, kill, or use a weapon).
- The Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces used a two-step question in order to ask respondents their sex at birth and their gender. This report is based on respondents’ gender; non-binary persons are not included within presented gender categories. Data on experiences of intimate partner violence specific to the transgender and non-binary population are not presented due to small sample size.
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities of the same gender (p<0.05)
- Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Safety in Private and Public Spaces, 2018, data retrieved from Intimate partner violence: Experiences of women with disabilities in Canada, 2018 (Statistics Canada calculations).
Persons with disabilities were twice as likely as those without disabilities to be physically abused by an intimate partner in the past 12 months. Among persons with disabilities, 4% of both men and women were physically abused by an intimate partner in the past 12 months. This compares to 2% of both men and women without disabilities.
4.4 Emotional or financial abuse by an intimate partner
Figure 4.4 – Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men+ | 21% | 15%* |
| Women+ | 25% | 13%* |
* significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities in the same gender category (p<0.05)
- Notes: “Intimate partner” refers to a current or former spouse, partner, or dating partner. Respondents were asked whether a set of statements describe the behavior of their intimate partners in the past 5 years. Emotional abuse refers to behaviors such as limiting contact with family or friends, putting them down or calling them names to make them feel bad, harming or threatening to harm their pet or someone close to them. Financial abuse refers to behaviors such as forcing them to give up their money, possessions, or property.
- 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 statistically significant for both persons with and without disabilities (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Canadians' Safety, 2019 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over were more likely than those without disabilities to report being emotionally or financially abused by an intimate partner in the last 5 years. Among persons with disabilities, 21% of men and 25% of women reported being emotionally or financially abused by an intimate partner in the last 5 years. This compares to 15% of men and 13% of women without disabilities.
4.5 Childhood sexual assault before the age of 15
Figure 4.5 – Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men+ | 5% | 2%* |
| Women+ | 14% | 7%* |
* significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities in the same gender category (p<0.05)
- Notes: Respondents were asked if, before the age of 15, an adult forced or attempted to force them into any unwanted sexual activity or touched them against their will in any sexual way. The estimates above refer to the proportion of respondents who experienced sexual assault by an adult at least once before the age of 15.
- It is unknown if disability was present at the time of the reported assault, or if the onset of disability was related to the assault.
- 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 statistically significant for both persons with and without disabilities (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Canadians' Safety, 2019 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over were at least twice as likely as those without disabilities to have experienced sexual assault before the age of 15. Among persons with disabilities, 5% of men and 14% of women reported having experienced sexual assault before the age of 15. This compares to 2% of men and 7% of women without disabilities. Women with disabilities were nearly 3 times as likely as men with disabilities to have experienced sexual assault before the age of 15 (14% versus 5%).
4.6 Childhood physical assault before the age of 15
Figure 4.6 – Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men+ | 33% | 20%* |
| Women+ | 30% | 16%* |
* significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities in the same gender category (p<0.05)
- Notes: The estimates above refer to the proportion of respondents who experienced physical assault by an adult at least once before the age of 15. Examples of physical assault include adults slapping, hitting, shoving, or throwing something at them to hurt them, or physically attacking them by kicking, biting, punching, choking, burning, or some other way.
- It is unknown if disability was present at the time of the reported assault, or if the onset of disability was related to the assault.
- 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 statistically significant only for persons without disabilities (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Canadians' Safety, 2019 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities were more likely than those without disabilities to have experienced physical assault before the age of 15. Among persons with disabilities, 33% of men and 30% of women reported having experienced physical assault before the age of 15. This compares to 20% of men and 16% of women without disabilities.
4.7 Victim of incident(s) of crime
Figure 4.7 – Text description
| Type of offence | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Physical assault | 6.6% | 3.6%* |
| Sexual assault | 6.0% | 1.4%* |
| Robbery | 1.5% | 0.3%* |
* significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities for a given type of offence (p<0.05)
- Notes: Respondents were asked if, in the past 12 months, they were a victim of incident(s) of crime.
- Physical assault refers to an attack (victim hit, slapped, grabbed, knocked down, or beaten), a face-to-face threat of physical harm, or an incident with a weapon present.
- Sexual assault refers to forced sexual activity, attempted forced sexual activity, unwanted sexual touching, grabbing, kissing, or fondling, or sexual relations without being able to give consent.
- Robbery refers to theft or attempted theft in which the offender had a weapon or there was violence or the threat of violence against the victim.
- * significantly different from estimate for persons with disabilities for a given type of offence (p<0.05)
- Rates in the source below were calculated per 1,000 population. In the chart, the rates have been converted to percentages by dividing the values by 10.
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Canadians' Safety, 2019, data retrieved from Criminal victimization in Canada, 2019 (PDF format) (Statistics Canada calculations).
Persons with disabilities were more likely than those without disabilities to report being victims of incident(s) of crime. Compared with persons without disabilities, those with disabilities were nearly twice as likely to report being victims of physical assault (6.6% versus 3.6%), over 4 times as likely to report being victims of sexual assault (6% versus 1.4%), and 5 times as likely to report being victims of robbery (1.5% versus 0.3%).