London ranks fourth-lowest in the country for its rate of family violence.
Statistics Canada has just released data for 2013 that shows five Quebec cities, including Montreal and Quebec City, had the most incidents of family violence per capita among 33 metro areas in 2013. In London, 666 domestic violence incidents were reported in London that year.
Executive Director of the London Abused Women's Centre Megan Walker says while violence against women is still an issue, the numbers are encouraging.
"It speaks volumes about the level of work being done in London, Ontario, not only by a number of agencies, but our community partners like police, fire services, ambulance services and the community at large," says Walker. "This community has said it's not your shame to feel, the blame and shame belongs to the perpetrator of that abuse and that gives women the ability to reach out for service when they know they're being supported."
Other findings in the report include that nearly half (48%) of the 88,000 victims of violence in 2013 were abused at the hands of a spouse or former partner. In those cases, the victim was a woman 80% of the time.
"For another 17% of family violence victims, the accused was a parent, while for 14% the accused was an extended family member such as an in-law, uncle or grandparent. A further 11% of family violence victims were victimized by a sibling and for 10% the accused was the victim's own child."
Overall, seven out of ten victims of all family violence were female. Most intimate partner incidents were likely to occur when the victims and the accused were in their 20's and 30's.
Stats-Can notes that rates of family-related physical assaults fell 14% between 2009 and 2014. You can read the full report HERE.
