The rate of police-reported sexual assaults in Canada has reached its highest level since 1996, according to Statistics Canada data released Tuesday.
There were more than 34,200 reports of sexual assault nationwide in 2021, an 18 percent increase from 2020, according to recently released numbers.
Although reports declined in 2020, the rate of sexual assaults has otherwise steadily increased for five years.
Despite an increase in public discussion of the issues surrounding sexual violence, Statistics Canada said the number of sexual assaults reported to police is still likely to be a significant underestimate.
The agency cited data showing that in 2019, only six per cent of sexual assaults suffered by Canadians aged 15 and over in the previous year were reported to police.
Overall, serious crime is on the rise
Sexual assaults accounted for a third of the overall five percent increase in violent crime reports, with homicides, criminal harassment, hate crimes and gun crimes also rising
In 2021, police reported 788 homicides, 29 more than in 2020, a three percent increase nationwide.
Both Ontario and British Columbia saw more homicides than last year, while Alberta and Nova Scotia saw fewer homicides in 2020. Provincial homicide rates were highest in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Although fewer Indigenous homicide victims were reported in 2021, the homicide rate among Indigenous people is still almost six times higher than for non-Indigenous people, Statistics Canada said.
Criminal harassment is up 10 percent in 2021 from 2020; the prevalence of intimate images without consent increased by eight percent; indecent or harassing communications increased by four percent; threats were up three percent.
Hate crimes are on the rise
The statistics show that hate crimes increased by 27% from 2020 to 2021, following a 36% increase the previous year, with crimes targeting religion and sexual orientation seeing the most dramatic increases.
Both violent and non-violent gun crime were more common last year than the year before, with violent gun crime up four percent and police-reported rates of “intentional discharge of a firearm” increased by eight percent.
For the first time since 2006, violent and nonviolent crime trended in opposite directions.
Non-violent crime is down three percent across the board, with lower rates of break-ins and thefts under $5,000.
Burglaries are down 10 percent nationally, with the rate down nearly 40 percent over the past decade, though more than 125,500 incidents were still reported. Thefts under $5,000 were down four percent after a 19 percent drop last year.
Robbery, which is categorized as a violent crime, also fell by five per cent in 2021, following an 18 per cent drop in 2020.
Statistics Canada cited the Public Health Agency of Canada as saying the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the public health crisis with opioid overdose deaths and hospitalizations.
Not surprisingly, there has been a commensurate increase in opioid-related crimes, including possession, trafficking, manufacture, and import or export of opioids, which are up 13 percent in 2021.
Provincially, the highest rates of opioid crimes were reported in British Columbia, while Lethbridge, Alta., and Kelowna, British Columbia, had the highest rates among the nation’s census metropolitan areas.
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