Young people are often targeted when crimes are committed, and it can be interesting to see how often this happens in Canada. It's important to remember that many of the young people know the people who commit these crimes. For example, for people who are under 6 years old, 60 percent of the assault crimes are perpetrated by members of their own family. However, for children who are between the ages of 9 and 17, assaults more often come from an acquaintance or strangers. This shift in dynamics can be important to the case.
The stats for 2008 show that crimes against children happened at a rate of 1,111 victims for each 100,000 children in the country. For violent crimes, the victimization rates were at their peak when the children were from 15 years old to 17 years old.
Victimization is much higher for children and young adults than it is for the elderly. In fact, when looking at those between 15 and 24 years of age, the rate was 284 victims for every 1,000 individuals. That is about 15 times higher than the rate reported for those who were at least 65 years old. That rate came in at just 19 for every 1,000 people. Those statistics are from 2009.
The rate of victimization for those of Aboriginal heritage—looking again at those between 15 and 24—came in at an astounding 425 victims per 1,000 individuals, which was much higher than it was for non-Aboriginal individuals.
Those who have been accused of crimes against children, whether they are violent crimes or not, must know about all of their legal rights in Ottawa.
Source: Public Safety Canada, "Victimization," accessed Dec. 18, 2015
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