Aboriginals more likely to be victimized.

Aboriginal people are more likely to be victimized than non-Aboriginal Canadians, a report from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics shows.

In a 2004 survey, about 4 in every 10 Aboriginals aged 15 and over reported that they were victimized at least once in the previous 12 months. In contrast, only 28% of non-Aboriginal people reported the same problems.

About 21% of Aboriginal people, 24% of women and 18% of men, said they suffered violence from a current or previous spouse or common-law partner in the five-year period up to 2004. This compares to 6% of non-Aboriginal people.

Aboriginal victims of spousal violence were more likely to state that they were beaten, choked, threatened with or had a gun or knife used against them, or were sexually assaulted. They were also more likely to sustain injuries and to fear for their lives as a result of violence by a spouse or common-law partner than were non-Aboriginal victims.

Aboriginal people were more likely to fall victim to someone they know. They were three times more likely than non-Aboriginal people to be victims of violent crime, specifically sexual assault, robbery and physical assault. The risk of violent victimization was highest among young Aboriginal people aged 15 to 34, whose rate was about 2.5 times higher than the rate for those who were 35 years or older.

Despite their higher rates of violent victimization, Aboriginal people were no more likely than non-Aboriginal people to report their victimizations to the police. About 6 in 10 incidents of violent crimes that were committed against Aboriginal people went unreported to the police.

Aboriginal victims suffered an injury in about 27% of violent incidents committed against them.