Majority (68%) of Female Sexual Assault Victims Were
Under 18 Years of Age at the Time

Toronto, ON - A staggering proportion of female sexual assault victims were under the age of 18 at the time of at least one of these occurrences, according to an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Global News.

The poll was conducted among 2,150 Canadian women aged 18 and older via the Ipsos I-Say online panel. Prospective respondents were informed ahead of time of the sensitive nature of the survey and then they gave their consent to participate. Following the survey, the phone number for the Women Against Violence Against Women crisis hotline was provided to the respondent if they felt they wanted to reach out for support.

Three in ten (30%) Canadian women surveyed say that they have at some point `been forced into a sexual encounter without their consent'. The data also reveals that a majority of these victims were under the age of 18 at the time of at least one occurrence of sexual assault.

Among victims of assault, seven in ten (68%) women say they were under the age of 18 at the time of at least one of the occurrences, while 37% say they were between the ages of 19 and 25, inclusive. Fewer were 26 to 35 years old (13%), 36 to 45 (6%) or over 45 (2%). (The figures exceed 100% because some women have been assaulted more than once and could have been different ages at the time of each respective occurrence).

Victims were asked to describe, in broad strokes, their relationship to the perpetrator. The data reveal that in most cases the perpetrator was someone close to the victim. Nearly half (47%) of victims would describe the perpetrator as someone they knew, while three in ten (30%) say it was a family member. Others would describe the perpetrator as a person on a date (18%), a random person they did not know (17%), a person from school (10%), a person from work (7%), a colleague (5%) or some other person (13%).

Focusing specifically on victims who were under the age of 18 and say that there was only one perpetrator, the data show that for most youth victims the perpetrator was either someone they knew (38%) or a family member (28%), and much less likely to be a person on a date (10%), a random person they didn't know (11%), a person from school (10%) or someone from work (1%). One in ten (8%) say the perpetrator was someone else.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between January 17th to 23rd, 2015, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 2,150 Canadian women ages 18+ (including a sample of n=645 women who have had an unwanted sexual encounter) was interviewed via the Ipsos I-Say online panel. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 2.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian women ages 18+ been surveyed, and within +/- 4.4 percentage points had all women who had been involved in an unwanted sexual encounter been surveyed. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Jennifer McLeod Macey
Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
(416) 324-2108
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry.

With offices in 86 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,712,4 million (2 274 M$) in 2013.

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