Manitoba listed as second-highest province for violence against girls and young women

Manitoba had one of the highest rates of reported violence against girls and young women in 2017, according to a new Statistics Canada report.

Specifically, Winnipeg is recorded as having the third-highest rate among Canadian cities, according to the report. Thunder Bay was posted at the top of the list.

There were a total of 2,635 per 100,00 population cases reported to police in Manitoba during 2017.

Saskatchewan topped that, sitting with the highest provincial rate of violence against girls and young women with 2,769 reported cases last year.

The report also shows the rate of violence for girls and young women was listed 1.8 times higher in rural areas of Manitoba last year.

In urban areas, 387 girls aged 11 years old or younger were victims of police-reported violent crimes, according to the report conducted in 2017. In rural areas, that number increases to 929 cases reported to police.

The report shows a 13 per cent decrease in violence against women aged 24 and younger between 2009 until 2017.

However, in women older than 25, that number increased by eight per cent from 2009 to 2017.

Using police-reported data from the Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey and the Homicide Survey, information is presented on violent crime under the Criminal Code (C.C. 1985) that was reported to and substantiated by the police. Since not all incidents of violence come to the attention of the police,  some findings based on self-reported data from the 2014 General Social Survey (GSS) on Canadians’ Safety (Victimization)  are provided for additional context on the nature, extent and impact of violent victimization. The GSS on Victimization provides information on experiences of victimization, whether incidents were reported to the police or not.