Violence against women in Sask. double the national rate

A report released Monday by Statistics Canada found that violence against women in Saskatchewan was approximately double the national rate.

The report, which looks at 2011 numbers, found police reported there had been 11,294 female victims of crime in Saskatchewan at a rate of 2,681 per 100,000. The national rate came in at 1,207 per 100,000 — less than half of what was reported in this province. That also gives Saskatchewan the highest rate among provinces with Manitoba coming in second highest at 2,191 per 100,000.

Broken down by census metropolitan areas (CMAs), Regina came in with a higher than average rate at 1,669 per 100,000 in relation to police-reported violence against females with Saskatoon reporting a slightly higher rate at 1,784. The national rate among CMAs was reported as 1,036.

The rate of violence committed against women by an intimate partner (which also includes dating, divorced and separated couples) was also high in Regina — second highest, in fact, among reporting CMAs at a rate of 846 per 100,000. Saskatoon also had a much higher rate than most other cities at 801. The national average was 542 while the average among CMAs was 455. The highest provincial rate in this category was in Saskatchewan, followed by Manitoba.

The numbers also painted a bleak picture of violence against female children and teens. Rates of violence against girls under 12 in Saskatchewan was highest among provinces at 791 per 100,000. The report also found girls between 12 and 17 years were more at risk in Saskatchewan and Manitoba than anywhere else in the country with rates about double the national rate (4,834 and 3,982 per 100,000 respectively for the two provinces).

At first glance, Regina numbers didn’t appear as grim in relation to police-reported sexual offences against women with a rate of 94 per 100,000 — below the national rate of 100. (Saskatoon didn’t fare as well at 131 per 100,000.) But, broken down, Regina was found to have a higher rate of serious sexual assaults than other CMAs at 11 per 100,000. Hamilton was second in that category at seven per 100,000.

Saskatchewan’s overall rate in relation to police-reported sexual offences against females (164 per 100,000) was second among provinces only to Manitoba (189).

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