Disabled Canadians experience more assault

Canadians with disabilities are about twice as likely to experience violence as their able-bodied peers, with greater instances of victimization taking place at every stage of life, new data from Statistics Canada indicated Thursday.

The numbers, drawn heavily from the agency’s 2014 General Social Survey on victimization, take an in-depth look at the experiences of Canadians over the age of 15 who identify as having a physical, sensory, cognitive or mental health disability and do not live in an institution.

The report, while breaking down data on both genders, offers a particular focus on women, who experience noticeably higher rates of victimization in many areas.

While the report explores factors such as homelessness, sexual orientation and exposure to childhood abuse that exacerbate the likelihood of being victimized, report author Adam Cotter said the data clearly demonstrates that merely being disabled is enough to elevate a person’s risk of harm.

Those rates, which reflect the self-reported experiences of disabled people in the 12 months before the survey was conducted, drastically surpass numbers seen in the general population.

While the rate of violent victimization of women in the able-bodied population totalled 65 per 1,000 people, the figure for disabled women more than doubled to 137 per 1,000. Numbers for men came in at 58 and 105 per 1,000 respectively.