Persons with activity limitations have higher rates of violent victimization¹

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The UN's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes that there is an increased risk of criminal victimization among persons with disabilities. Many studies have also concluded the same (Petersilia, 2009; OVC, 2009, 2002; Dube, 2007; Cantos, 2006; Teplin et al., 2005; Health Canada, 2004; Reid, 2004; Sorensen, 2002; Rioux et al., 1997; Statistics Canada, 2001). Results from the General Social Survey (GSS) of 2004 also showed that persons with activity limitations experienced violent victimization at a rate that was higher than those without limitations (147 compared to 101 incidents per 1,000 persons). Even when controlling for age, it was found that persons with activity limitations were victims of both physical assault and sexual assault about twice as often as persons without limitations (Chart 1).

Chart 1 Rate of victimization, by disability status

Research studies also identify certain groups of persons with disabilities who seem to be more at risk, such as persons with disabilities living in an institution (OVC, 2009; Health Canada, 2002, 1993; Reid, 2004; Sorensen, 2002), those who have severe disabilities (Reid, 2004; McNutt et al., 2002; Sorensen, 2002; Health Canada, 2002) and those with mental disorders (Teplin et al., 2005; Health Canada, 2002; Marley and Buila, 2001). Although there were no available data on the rates for the first two categories, persons who stated they suffered from mental or behavioural disorders² experienced personal victimization (including violent crimes and theft of personal property) at a rate³ that was more than four times the rate for the persons with no mental or behavioural disorder (845⁴ incidents compared to 197 per 1,000 persons).

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Notes

1. Unless otherwise indicated, all differences shown in this report are statistically significant to p<0.05.
2. Definition available at www.cihi.ca/cihiweb/en/downloads/ICD-10-CA_Vol1_2006.pdf
3. Violent crimes were combined with theft of personal property to produce a reliable estimate since the sample size was too small to obtain a figure for violent crimes only.
4. Use with caution - CV between 16.6 and 33.3. For more details, see the Methodology section of this report.