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Assaults Against Children and Youth in the Family, 1996

NCJ Number
172534
Author(s)
R Fitzgerald
Date Published
1996
Length
13 pages
Annotation
In 1996 in Canada, children under 18 years of age were the victims of 22 percent of assaults reported to police agencies; they represented a much larger proportion of sexual assault victims (60 percent) than of physical assault victims (18 percent).
Abstract
While most assaults against children were committed by non-family members, family members were accused in 24 percent of assaults against children, including 32 percent of sexual assaults and 20 percent of physical assaults. Family members were responsible for most assaults against very young children. Almost 70 percent of victims under 3 years of age were physically assaulted by family members, and parents accounted for 85 percent of these. Girls were victims of assaults by family members more often than boys. Victims were female in 56 percent of physical assaults and in almost 80 percent of sexual assaults. Fathers made up a large majority (80 percent) of parents accused of assaulting their children, accounting for 98 percent of parents accused of sexual assaults and 73 percent of parents accused of physical assaults. Between 1974 and 1996, there were 1,994 homicide victims under 18 years of age, accounting for 13 percent of all homicide victims in Canada during the period. A history of violence was considered to be a factor in 26 percent of child homicides committed by family members. 19 references, 7 tables, and 7 figures

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