Question Period Note: Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces, 2018

There are data gaps on the nature and prevalence of gender-based violence in Canada.

*Everyone has the right to live free from violence. To support this fundamental human right, Canada is committed to using evidence-based approaches to prevent gender-based violence and to support survivors.

*The Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces is the first national survey dedicated to measuring experiences of gender-based violence in Canada.

*This survey will significantly improve knowledge on experiences of gender-based violence in Canada and help improve initiatives to prevent gender-based violence and to support survivors.

Using roughly $9.6M of funding from It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-based Violence, Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) funded Statistics Canada (STC) to develop the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces; the first national survey dedicated to measuring experiences of gender-based violence (GBV) in Canada.

Initial survey results were released on December 5th, 2019; results are currently limited to the provinces and we expect territorial results to be released in spring 2020.

Results from this survey will fill important data gaps and provide valuable information to people in Canada about behaviours that are not criminal under the Criminal Code, intimate partner violence and perceptions and attitudes that underpin GBV. The survey results also provide the first national data on experiences of GBV among transgender and other gender-diverse people.

Some key findings from the report include:
o It is estimated that 4.7 million women have experienced a sexual assault in their lifetime (since age 15), accounting for 30% of women (or 1 in 3) in Canada. In contrast, 8% of men experienced the same.
o First Nations (45%) and Métis (44%) women are more likely to have experienced a sexual assault in their lifetime (since age 15) than non-Indigenous women (30%) in Canada.
o Lesbian, gay and bisexual people were each about 1.5 times more likely than heterosexual people to have experienced violence in their lifetime (since age 15).
o In the 12 months preceding the survey, 3% of women and 1% of men experienced a sexual assault.
o In the 12 months preceding the survey, 32% of women and 13% of men experienced one or more unwanted sexual behaviours in public spaces that made them feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Among these people, half of women (52%) and nearly half of men (46%) reported having changed their behaviour due to their experience.
o Odds of experiencing unwanted sexual behaviours in public in the 12 months preceding the survey was four times higher for gay (38%) and bisexual (42%) men than for heterosexual men (13%).
o Experience of online harassment in the 12 months preceding the survey was reported by 18% of women and 14% of men. Women were more likely than men to have taken measures to protect themselves online, such as deleting accounts (28% versus 19%).

As data continue to be analyzed, the Government of Canada and its partners will gain valuable information on experiences of GBV among specific populations, such as women living with a disability, Indigenous women, LGBTQ2 individuals, and senior and immigrant women.

Results will also provide the first-ever national snapshots of GBV in Canada. Data from this survey will be instrumental in informing policies and programs to prevent and address GBV and to support survivors and their families.

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