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One-fifth of all gender-related homicide victims in Canada were Indigenous
StatsCan says 57% of those had at least one prior contact with police as a victim of a violent crime — almost double of non-Indigenous victims
Despite Indigenous women and girls comprising about 5% of the total population of women and girls in Canada, from 2009 to 2022, 20% of all gender-related homicide victims were Indigenous, new information shows.
Overall in Canada, from 2009 to 2022, there were 6,534 police-solved Indigenous and non-Indigenous homicides, with 69% of these victims being men and boys and the remaining 31% were women and girls, stated the latest release from Statistics Canada.
And across Canada, of the women or girl victims, more than two-thirds (69%) were killed in a gender-related homicide.
More than one quarter (26%) of all gender-related homicide victims had at least one prior contact with police as a victim of a violent crime, though 57% of Indigenous gender-related homicide victims had at least one prior contact, reads the latest StatsCan study.
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Most of the Indigenous victims were killed by an intimate partner (65%) or family member (26%), but slightly more Indigenous women and girls (9%) were killed by an accused with whom they shared a non-intimate, non-familial relationship compared with gender-related homicide victims overall (7%).
The report’s author, Danielle Sutton-Preddie, stated the data presented here, “are not intended to stigmatize individuals or communities who may already experience marginalization, but are intended to identify patterns and opportunities for prevention and early intervention.”
She continued: “Many homicides, including gender-related homicides, occur within broader structural, social and cultural contexts. Factors such as poverty, housing instability, unemployment, gender inequality, and harmful societal norms often contribute to homicide victimization and perpetration.”
Indigenous victims of gender-related homicide were more often single, never having been married (37% versus 24% of gender-related victims overall) or were in a common-law relationship (41% versus 23%) at the time of their homicide.
Three in ten (29%) Indigenous gender-related homicide victims had contact with police as victims of violence in the year prior to their deaths.
Physical injury was slightly more common in prior violence against gender-related victims than for non-gender-related victims (60%), but when the gender-related homicide victim was Indigenous, a greater proportion sustained physical injury (67%).
About two-thirds (65%) of all Indigenous gender-related homicide victims had visited an emergency department at some point since 2009 but prior to their death.
Of these women and girls, 65% did so within a year prior to their death.
A smaller proportion of Indigenous gender-related homicide victims were employed compared with gender-related homicide victims overall (19% versus 44%).
For example, fewer Indigenous victims claimed employment income on their taxes (32% versus 56% of gender-related homicide victims overall), more received social assistance (27% versus 17%), and nearly three-quarters (72%) reported government transfers as their main source of income (compared with 48% of all gender-related victims).
Reflecting longstanding socioeconomic inequities in Canada, states StatsCan when compared with gender-related homicide victims overall, a greater proportion of Indigenous victims showed evidence of economic inequity.
Of all Indigenous homicide victims killed between 2010 and 2022 who filed their taxes within the three years prior to their death, seven in ten (70%) were in a low-income situation, stated StatsCan
Specifically, close to three quarters (72%) of Indigenous gender-related victims were classified as having low income; lower than Indigenous non-gender-related victims (81%) but slightly higher than Indigenous men and boys (68%).
If you are experiencing violence at home and are looking for help, contact the NWT Family Violence Shelters.
Whether you need a safe place to stay, an Emergency Protection Order or someone to talk to, the 24/7 crisis line is available whenever you need it: 1-866-223-7775.
If the threat is immediate, call the RCMP at 911.
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- Participants at the Red Dress Day March on Tuesday from the NWT Legislative Assembly Building through downtown Yellowknife. (CKLB files)
From Statistics Canada on Indigenous people:
The overrepresentation of Indigenous people as victims and persons accused of crime is well documented.
This overrepresentation can be traced to settler-colonial laws and policies that displaced Indigenous people from their land, separated families and communities, and attempted to suppress language, spiritual and cultural practices.
The legacy of these policies continues through systemic discrimination and racism that create barriers to seeking justice, education, employment, and culturally appropriate services.
These challenges are compounded by geographic isolation, limited economic opportunities, and over-policing practices, which can collectively lead to cycles of poverty, substance use, and higher rates of incarceration.
All of which increase Indigenous Peoples’ vulnerability to all forms of violence, including homicide.
Coercive control as a risk factor of gender-related homicide, from StatsCan:
In Canada, the heightened recognition of coercive control is reflected in the Protecting Victims Act, a new law passed on June 18, that overhauls the Criminal Code.
It criminalizes coercive control, classifies intimate partner homicides driven by hate or domestic abuse as first-degree murder, bans non-consensual sexual deepfakes, and restores mandatory minimum penalties for child sexual exploitation.
Coercive or controlling conduct is defined as a pattern of behaviour directed at an intimate partner that causes them to believe their physical or psychological safety — or the safety of their child, someone known to them, or an animal in their care — is threatened.
The Department of Justice also considers coercive control to include:
- Social isolation from friends or family, work or school;
- Deprivation of basic needs;
- Repeatedly insulting, humiliating or putting a person down to foster feelings of worthlessness; and/or
- Damaging personal property.
From StatsCan on gender/sex:
Gender refers to the gender a person publicly expresses in their daily life, including at work, while shopping or accessing other services, in their housing environment or in the broader community.
Sex and gender refer to two different concepts. Caution should be exercised when comparing counts for sex with those for gender.
StatsCan has uses “men and boys” or “women and girls” until more data on gender identity is reported over time for victims and persons accused of homicide.
