Geographic inequities

Victim services in Canada are primarily delivered at the provincial and territorial levels, resulting in diverse service models that complicate national comparative analysis. Data on service utilization is rarely disaggregated by identity or geography, making it difficult to identify disparities or gaps for marginalized groups (Office of the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime, 2025), a challenge even more pronounced for Black gun violence survivors and homicide-bereaved families who remain statistically invisible in utilization data. Primary studies in large urban centres demonstrate consistently low levels of service utilization among both populations (Asante, 2024, 2025), and these disparities are likely considerably more severe in rural and remote regions where victim services are already scarce and cultural responsiveness even less available.