Victims of Crime Research Digest, Issue No. 4

Domestic Violence in Rural Canada

Melissa Northcott, Researcher
Research and Statistics Division, Department of Justice Canada

Introduction

In June 2008, the Senate Standing Committee on Rural Affairs released its report entitled Beyond Freefall: Halting Rural Poverty. The report discussed a wide range of issues impacting rural Canada and noted, in the chapter on crime, the lack of empirical data on specific crimes in rural areas, including domestic violence. The report cited anecdotal evidence suggesting that “stresses caused by rising unemployment, declining populations and seasonal work are leading to an increase in the reported incidence of family violence in some parts of rural Canada (Senate of Canada 2008, 235).

Given the cited anecdotal evidence as well as the limited research on domestic violence in rural areas, this research sought to determine if there has been an increase in incidents of domestic violence in rural areas.

Available Research

While some of the limited existing literature indicates that there are no conclusive numbers regarding the incidence of domestic violence in rural Canada (Brookbank 1995), Statistics Canada has found that rates of spousal violence in rural areas may be similar to those in urban areas (e.g., Mihorean 2005; Pottie Bunge and Levett 1998). Other research on this topic has focused on the challenges faced in providing services to victims of domestic violence in rural areas, such as issues relating to lack of services and transportation, as well as isolation and difficulties relating to communication (Kasdorff and Erb 2010). Responses to these challenges by various organizations and by all levels of government have also been documented and include the creation of more shelters and social services, implementation of domestic violence courts, and provincial legislation to facilitate a better response to issues of domestic violence.

Although there is very little information available regarding domestic violence in rural areas of Canada, much research has been conducted on the issue of domestic violence in Canada generally. For example, there are a number of national surveys which record the incidence of spousal violence, such as the General Social Survey on Victimization (GSS), which collects self-reported data on crime every 5 years (Statistics Canada), and the annual Incident-Based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey(UCR2), which collects police-reported incidents of crime (Statistics Canada).

Research using the 2004 GSS found that the overall level of self-reported spousal violence remained stable at 7% between 1999 and 2004 (Mihorean 2005), while the 2007 UCR2 data found that the percentage of police-reported spousal violence declined 15% between 1998 and 2007 (Taylor Butts 2009). These reports also examine other elements relating to spousal violence, such as information related to gender, age and provincial and territorial differences.

Methodology

For this study, police-reported data on domestic violence was requested from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS). Data from the Incident-Based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR2) was used to examine domestic violence incidents and rates of domestic violence per 100,000 in rural and urban Canada for the years 2004 until 2008. Due to issues with data coverage, however, incidents of domestic violence for only the years 2006 to 2008 were examined.^{Footnote 1}

Incidents of domestic violence are specified in the UCR2 through documentation of the relationship between the victim and the individual charged. Although there are other terms used for domestic violence, including spousal abuse, intimate partner violence, and family violence (Alberta Justice and Attorney General 2008), the term domestic violence was used in this study. Domestic violence was defined as incidents involving spouses and former spouses (common-law or married) or other family members. Other family members could include aunts, uncles, parents, step-parents, grandparents, siblings and cousins.

For the purposes of this study, areas with a population of 5,000 and less were defined as rural, while areas with a population of over 5,000 were considered urban.

Results

The UCR2 data obtained from the CCJS were examined, and overall rates of police-reported incidents of domestic violence in rural and urban areas of Canada were determined. Data on specific domestic violence-related offences were also analyzed.

Overall Domestic Violence

As Table 1 shows, the total combined rate of domestic violence (in rural and urban areas) increased between 2006 and 2008. The rates of domestic violence perpetrated by both spouses/former spouses and family members were higher in rural areas than in urban areas.

In rural areas, the rates of overall domestic violence perpetrated by both spouses/former spouses and family members fluctuated, with an increase between 2006 and 2007, followed by a decrease in 2008. This shift was also seen in both the rates of domestic violence perpertrated by spouses/former spouses and the rates of domestic violence perpetrated by family members. However, the increase in the rates of domestic violence perpetrated by family members was larger than the increase in the rates of domestic violence perpetrated by spouses/former spouses. Additionally, the rates of overall domestic violence perpetrated by family members were higher than the rates of overall domestic violence perpetrated by spouses/former spouses.

In urban areas, the rates of overall domestic violence perpetrated by both spouses/former spouses and family members also fluctuated, but with a decrease between 2006 and 2007, followed by an increase in 2008. While this shift was also seen in domestic violence perpetrated by spouses/former spouses, the rates of domestic violence perpetrated by family members remained the same between 2006 and 2007, then increased in 2008. The rates of overall domestic violence perpetrated by spouses/former spouses were higher than the rates of domestic violence perpetrated by family members. This is the opposite of what was seen in rural areas.

Table 1: Domestic Violence Violations, Rates per 100,000 Population, 2006-2008
	Spouse/ Former Spouse	Family	Total Rural	Spouse/ Former Spouse	Family	Total Urban	Total (Rural and Urban)
	Rural			Urban			Total (Rural and Urban)
2006	330	461	791	131	103	234	247
2007	393	673	1066	125	103	229	248
2008	392	670	1062	129	111	240	259