Victim service agencies assist over 360,000 per year.

Canada's first victim service agencies survey reports that these organizations helped almost 360,000 people affected by crime in 2002/03.

A one-day survey snapshot, taken on October 22, 2003, showed that more than three-quarters of the people who sought assistance were victims, either directly or indirectly, of violent crime, and the majority were women or girls. The one-day survey showed that:

* About 33% had been victimized by a spouse, ex-spouse or intimate partner,

* 18% were victimized by a family member other than a spouse.

Expenditure information was supplied by 430 of the 484 agencies who participated in the survey. Those that reported said they spent $82 million on victim services in Canada during the year.

Eight provinces reported information on financial benefit programs for victims of crime spent almost $71 million on compensation for victims and their families.

To date, the only source of national data on services for victims of crime has been Statistics Canada's Transition Home Survey that collects information on residential services for abused women and their children. The survey did not cover shelters for abused women and their children because they are currently covered by the Transition Home Survey.

Canada had 606 victim service agencies in 2002/03. These include police-based services (41%), community-based (19%); sexual assault centres (17%); court-based (10%) and system-based (8%), that is, their services were delivered by a provincial government program which supports the victim throughout their contact with the criminal justice system. Other types of services accounted for 3% of agencies and the criminal injuries compensation and financial benefit programs for victims of crime made up the remaining 1%.