New Brunswick continues to top the charts in sexual violence.
by Jody Dallaire
The good news is that New Brunswickers are #1 in Canada in at least two important social indicators. The bad news is that those #1 positions are in unemployment (11.2 percent in June, vs the 7.1 percent Canadian average — and urban sexual assault.
New Brunswick can boast that it has two out of the top three cities with the highest number of sexual assault cases reported to police. Fredericton and Saint John rank second and third respectively, according to Maclean’s magazine’s annual report on “Where Canadian criminals go to play — A look at cities with the most lawbreakers.”
In 83 percent of cases, the sexual assault victims were female. In 100 percent of cases the perpetrator of the sexual assault was male. In vast majority of cases (82 percent), the victim knew the offender.
In 83 percent of cases, the sexual assault victims were female. In 100 percent of cases the perpetrator of the sexual assault was male. In vast majority of cases (82 percent), the victim knew the offender.
New Brunswick tops the charts in another area too. Statistics Canada recently released a statistical profile on family violence that reports that New Brunswick has Canada’s highest rate of family-related murder-suicides.
Between the years 2001 and 2011, there were 13 cases of family-related murder-suicides in our province, which translates into a rate of 1.6 cases per 1 million in population, more than twice the Canadian average (0.6) for the same time-period and higher than the highest rate (1.2) in the past 50 years. Overwhelmingly, in 95 percent of the cases, the perpetrator of family-related murder-suicides is male.
Further analysis showed spousal murder-suicides were most common. In 97 percent of these cases, the victim of the spousal murder-suicide is female and the perpetrator is male. Many of the perpetrators have a history of family violence. Arguments, frustration, anger and despair are listed as the most common motive in spousal cases.
Similarly, StatsCan found that in 2011, for the second year in a row, the city of Saint John topped the charts in Canada as the city with the most cases of family violence reported to police. There were 380 incidents of family violence reported to police in 2011 in the Saint John metropolitan area.
When the recent Statistics Canada data on family violence were released, Saint John Police Chief Bruce Connell reportedly attributed Saint John’s high reporting rate to — reporting. He was quoted as saying that: “We’d certainly like to think that more people are reporting family violence in this area and that’s why we’re at the high ratio that we’re at.”
Reporting domestic battering is an essential first step to controlling it. I look forward to the day New Brunswickers can read a report that says NB is first in detecting and preventing family violence.
About Jody Dallaire
Jody Dallaire lives and works in Dieppe New Brunswick where she writes a weekly column on women's equality issues and matters of social justice.
Email: jody.dallaire@rogers.com.
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