Sources and methodological considerations of the Sexual Violence section
| Source | Abbreviation | Responsible body (location, date) | Origin of data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Québec Health Survey of High School Students | QHSHSS
| Institut de la Statistique du Québec (Quebec, 2022-2023) | General population (high school students) |
| Enquête québécoise sur la violence commise par des partenaires intimes | - | Institut de la Statistique du Québec (Quebec, 2021-2022) | General population |
| Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect | CIS | Public Health Agency of Canada (Canada, 2019) | Data from Canadian child welfare services |
| Québec Incidence Study on the situations investigated by child protective services | QIS | Institut universitaire Jeunes en difficulté (Quebec, 2019) | Quebec youth protection services |
| Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey | UCR 2.2 – Statistics Canada | Statistics Canada (Canada, 2022) | Police services |
| UCR 2.2 – Ministère de la Sécurité publique | Ministère de la Sécurité publique (Quebec, 2022) | ||
| General Social Survey on Victimization Survey on Canadians’ Safety (since 2022) | GSS SCS | Statistics Canada (Canada, 2019, 2025-2026 in progress) | General population |
| Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces | SSPPS | Statistics Canada (Canada, 2018, 2024-2025 in progress) | General population |
Québec Health Survey of High School Students (QHSHSS)
In Quebec, since 2010, three editions of the Québec Health Survey of High School Students have been conducted by the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) among high school students in Quebec. This survey is conducted in high schools in 16 health regions and provides representative data on various topics related to youth health and its determinants, including sexual violence experienced in intimate relationships and forced sexual intercourse by another youth or adult. In 2022-2023, a total of 70,825 students in 3,185 classes and 483 schools participated in the survey between November 2022 and May 2023.
Enquête québécoise sur la violence commise par des partenaires intimes
In Quebec, the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) conducted the first Enquête québécoise sur la violence commise par des partenaires intimes (Quebec Survey on Intimate Partner Violence) in 2021-2022. This survey aims to collect data on the different forms of violence experienced between intimate partners (psychological, physical, sexual) throughout their lives and in the last 12 months. Sexual violence is measured by two statements: having been forced to engage in sexual acts against one's will and having been forced or attempted to be forced to have sexual intercourse by an intimate partner or ex-partner. A total of 24,499 people aged 18 and over participated in this survey throughout Quebec and in the 17 administrative regions.
Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS)
In Canada, four nation-wide studies have been conducted since 1998 with Canadian child welfare services to measure the incidence of reported child abuse. These studies provide information on the number of new and re-opened cases of child sexual abuse reported to and substantiated by these services in a year. The Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect conducted in 2019 included 44 000 investigations using a representative sample of 47 non-Indigenous child welfare services in Canada and 16 Indigenous child welfare organizations outside Quebec. The Quebec data were derived from the 2019 administrative data of Quebec youth protection services. Seventeen of Quebec’s 20 organizations were included in the study and their data were adjusted, when possible, according to the variables contained in the data collection instruments used in the rest of Canada.
Québec Incidence Study on the situations investigated by child protective services (QIS)
In Quebec, five cycles of the Québec Incidence Study on situations investigated by child protective services (QIS) have been conducted with child protection services since 1998. These studies have gathered information from protection services on investigated situations, including the number of sexual abuse cases that have been reported and substantiated by these services. In 2019, 34,575 non-Indigenous children and 2,211 First Nations children were assessed by youth protection services across Quebec. Children identified as Inuit or Métis were not included in these data, mainly because there were too few of them to provide a reliable picture.
Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR)
The Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR),which is now at version 2.2, collects detailed information on criminal incidents reported to police services. The information concerns both victims and alleged perpetrators. Each year, Statistics Canada and the Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec (MSP) publish Canadian and Quebec statistics on police-reported crime using UCR data, making it possible to document the nature of crime and how it changes over time. To be included, the offences must be detected, reported by police, and recorded with the UCR survey.
Sexual offenses according to police data
Sexual offence is a term used to refer to both sexual assault crimes and other sexual offences under the Criminal Code. The Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR)contains data on reported crimes substantiated by police across Canada. However, even though Statistics Canada and the Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec present data on sexual offences according to the rules of the UCR 2.2 Survey, they do not always include the same offences in the sexual offences’ category.
Statistics Canada provides statistics on sexual offences, which include sexual assault (levels 1 to 3 under the Criminal Code) and sexual offences against children. The latter include, more specifically, offences provided for in the Criminal Code whose victims are minors (aged 0 to 17), such as sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, sexual exploitation, luring a child, and making sexually explicit material available to a child. Sexual offences other than those involving sexual assault or sexual offences against children are not included in this category.
The Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec also publishes statistics on sexual offences that include sexual assault (levels 1 to 3 under the Criminal Code), but that differ regarding other sexual offences reported. In addition to including a list of sexual offenses committed against minors, other sexual offenses also include crimes that do not solely involve children, such as the publication of intimate images without consent and voyeurism.
Therefore, the police data reported by Statistics Canada and those reported by the Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec must be compared and interpreted with caution, given that neither of these bodies include data pertaining to all the sexual offences listed in the Criminal Code. It is also important to note that the annual statistics compiled by the UCR 2.2 Survey include sexual offences reported in the last year, regardless of when they were committed. Statistics derived from the UCR 2.2 Survey and then published include only the most serious offence that occurred during an incident, even when several sexual offences were committed during the same event. Clearly, police data provide only a partial picture of the situation, particularly because sexual offences reported to the police in any given year represent only a fraction of all sexual assaults committed.
General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization
The General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization collects information on the criminal victimization experiences of Canadians aged 15 and older for eight offences, including sexual assault. The GSS on Victimization collects information on crimes that are reported or not reported to the police, with unreported experiences accounting for slightly more than two thirds (71%) of criminal victimization incidents in 20191. The GSS on Victimization is conducted every five years and its most recent cycle was conducted in 2019. Considering that the collection method changed in 2019, direct comparison to previous cycles is not recommended.
As of 2022, the name of the General Social Survey (GSS) has changed to the General Social Statistics Program (GSSP), and the victimization component is now called the Survey on Canadians’ Safety (SCS). Data from this survey, which documents sexual assault, among other things, will be collected in 2025-2026.
Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS)
The Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS) collects information on the experiences of Canadians aged 15 and older in public, at work, online, and in their intimate relationships. It was conducted for the first time in 2018. This survey, which will be conducted every five years, collects self-reported data on violent victimization experiences, including sexual assault, regardless of whether these experiences are reported to the police2. Data from the latest survey cycle conducted in 2024–2025 are not yet available.
Measuring sexual assault in population surveys
Child sexual abuse
The General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization and the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS) collect data on child sexual abuse, i.e., experienced before the age of 15. The types of sexual abuse documented in these two surveys are very similar and refer to acts of sexual abuse committed solely by adults. More specifically, the acts refer to forced or attempted forced sexual activities (using threats, restraint or infliction of pain) and unwanted sexual contact (including touching, kissing or fondling).
Although these surveys are population-based, it is important to note that they likely underestimate the actual prevalence of sexual abuse because they do not document all types of child sexual abuse, such as those that do not include sexual contact and are committed by minors, and not all sexual abuse incidents are reported in these surveys.
Adult sexual assault
DAs part of the General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization, Canadians aged 15 and older are asked three questions about sexual assault offences they have experienced in the past 12 months, regardless of whether they were reported to the police. The following types of sexual assault are documented in the survey: forced or attempted forced sexual activity (using threats, restraint or infliction of pain), unwanted sexual contact (touching, grabbing, kissing or fondling), and sexual intercourse without being able to consent (due to the effects of drugs or alcohol, manipulation, or force other than physical force). However, these offences exclude sexual assault incidents between spouses (current or former), which were collected using a different methodology and analyzed in detail in a separate report published in 2019.
The Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS) also collected data on self-reported sexual assault by Canadians aged 15 and older in the past 12 months and since the age of 15. The types of sexual assault documented in this survey are similar to those used in the GSS on Victimization: forced or attempted forced sexual activity (using threats, restraint or infliction of pain), unwanted sexual contact (touching, grabbing, kissing or fondling), and sexual activity without being able to consent (due to the effects of drugs or alcohol, manipulation, or force other than physical force). Sexual assault between intimate partners, which was the subject of a report published in 2021, was also documented in the SSPPS. It was measured with two questions: forced performance of sexual acts and forced sexual intercourse or attempted forced sexual intercourse.
It is important to note, however, that these surveys do not cover all forms of sexual assault, such as sexual harassment, and that some sexual assaults are not reported in the surveys, which may underestimate the actual prevalence of sexual assault.
References
- Cotter, A. (2021). La victimisation criminelle au Canada, 2019, [en ligne], Statistique Canada, « Juristat » (consulté le 10 décembre 2021).
- Cotter, A., et L. Savage (2019). La violence fondée sur le sexe et les comportements sexuels non désirés au Canada, 2018 : Premiers résultats découlant de l’Enquête sur la sécurité dans les espaces publics et privés, [en ligne], Statistique Canada, « Juristat »(consulté le 10 décembre 2021).
Author: Maude Lachapelle, Scientific Advisor, INSPQ
Collaboration: Dominique Gagné, Scientific Advisor, INSPQ, and Dave Poitras, Specialized Scientific Advisor, INSPQ