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From provincial reports, one-third (32%) of Ontario adults reported experiencing physical abuse, sexual abuse or exposure to intimate partner violence as a child.
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Nationally, 8% of community-dwelling older adults (55 years and older) reported mistreatment, most commonly reporting psychological and financial abuse.
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In 2015, 29 per 100,000 Ottawa older adults (65 to 89 years of age) were victims of police reported family violence, which was lower than the rates in Ontario (including Ottawa; 48 per 100,000) and Canada (60 per 100,000).
Violence Data
Violence is the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation. Exposure to violence is linked to poor mental and physical health outcomes, fear, social isolation, and risky behaviours, including criminal behaviour.
Local data sources for estimates of violence are lacking, and the limited data that is available may underrepresent the violence experienced by Ottawa residents. For more information about violence and it’s impact on health, refer to Status of Mental Health in Ottawa Report 2018 and The Chief Public Health Officer’s Report on the State of Public Health in Canada 2016: A Focus on Family Violence in Canada.
- In 2017, one in five Ottawa students in Grades 7 to 12 (18%) were bullied at least once on school property in the current school year.
- Verbal or non-physical attacks were reported by 81% of bullied students and cyberbullying (bullied on the internet) was reported by 18% of Ottawa students.
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Bullying others at school was reported by 8% of Ottawa students and cyberbullying others by 8% of students.
- In 2017, 5% of Ottawa students in Grades 7 to 12 reported they had beat up or hurt someone on purpose in the past 12 months, and 10% reported they had been in a physical fight on school property in the past 12 months.
- In 2016, Ottawa residents made 1,900 visits to the emergency department (ED) due to assault, which includes physical and sexual assault. These assault-related ED visits resulted in 169 hospitalizations.
- Approximately 4% of Ontario adults reported being the victim of a physical or sexual assault in the past year – this was highest among young adults aged 18 to 24 years (9%) and higher for those born in Canada (4%) than for immigrants (2%).