Fact Sheet: British Columbia

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Victims of police-reported violent crime in British Columbia, 2023

• In 2023, police services across British Columbia reported 62,615 victims of violent crime and traffic offences causing death or bodily harm (Table 11.1). This represented 1,122 victims per 100,000 population, which is similar to the national rate (1,207 per 100,000).^{Footnote 85}
• Most (85%) victims were adults aged 18 and older;^{Footnote 86} 44% of all victims were aged 25 to 44 years, representing the largest proportion of any age group (Table 11.1). Meanwhile, 12% of victims were youth aged 12 to 17 years, and 4% were children 11 years and younger. The rate of victims was highest among children aged 12 to 17 years (2,167 per 100,000 population), followed by adults aged 18 to 24 years (1,937 per 100,000 population) and adults aged 25 to 44 years (1,632 per 100,000).^{Footnote 87}
• Seven in ten (69%) victims of police-reported violent crime in 2023 were victims of assault.^{Footnote 88} Assault victims accounted for almost three-quarters (73%) of adult victims aged 18 years and older, and almost half (49%) of child and youth victims aged 17 years and younger.
• The second most commonly reported offence was “other violent violations” which accounted for one in five victims (21%).^{Footnote 89} This category includes offences such as robbery, extortion, and uttering threats, among other violent crimes.
• Overall, 7% of police-reported victims of violent crime in British Columbia in 2023 were victims of sexual assault.^{Footnote 90} Most (71%) sexual assault victims were adults aged 18 years and older, and just under one-quarter (23%) were youth aged 12 to 17 years. A small number (6%) were children aged 11 years and younger (Table 11.1).
• More than half (52%) of victims of sexual violations against children were youth aged 12 to 17 years, and just under half (46%) were children aged 11 years and younger (Table 11.1).
• While almost half (49%) of all police-reported victims were female, they represented much larger proportions of victims of sexual assault (91%) and sexual violations against children (80%) (Table 11.2).
• Most (80%) of victims of homicide, attempted murder and other violations causing death were male, as well as most (61%) victims of other violent violations (Table 11.2).
• Male and female victims of police-reported sexual assault differed by age, although it was not a large difference. Most (72%) female sexual assault victims were adults aged 18 years and older, and 64% of male sexual assault victims were adults.^{Footnote 91}
• Compared to female child and youth victims, sexual offences were less common among male children and youth aged 17 years and younger, as 3% were victims of sexual assault and 6% were victims of sexual violations against children (compared to 22% and 20%, respectively, for female child and youth victims).^{Footnote 92} However, assault was more commonly reported among male child and youth victims (62%) than female child and youth victims (39%).

Victim services in British Columbia

In British Columbia, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General provides funding to approximately 475 Victim Service and Violence Against Women programs (VS-VAW) across the province. These programs are delivered by contracted service providers, and they provide a range of services such as emotional support, information, referrals, practical assistance and counselling to victims of crime or gender-based violence. Service types include police-based and community-based victim service programs, Stopping the Violence Counselling programs, Outreach and Multicultural Outreach programs, and Prevention, Education, Advocacy, Counselling and Empowerment (PEACE) programs for children who witness abuse. The Ministry also supports some specialized programs in order to meet the unique needs of specific types of victims (e.g., sexual assault survivors), as well as programs that provide culturally safe victim services and counselling supports for Indigenous victims and communities. The Ministry also funds VictimLinkBC, a toll-free 24-hour multilingual, confidential telephone service available across BC and the Yukon. In addition, the Ministry provides financial support to victims through the Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP), and safety and notification services through the Victim Safety Unit (VSU). The Victim Court Support Program assists victims through the justice process by coordinating between victim service and justice system personnel. The information provided below is based on data reported by provincially funded contracted VS-VAW programs and VictimLinkBC, as well as Ministry-delivered direct services such as CVAP. As the data reported by contracted VS-VAW programs is reported in aggregate, victims who make use of services from more than one program may be counted more than once in the data. Additionally, the data regarding victims served may include victims of non-violent crimes, such as property offences, or victims of disasters and/or emergencies, such as wildfires or floods, who received assistance from victim service agencies.

• In 2023, British Columbia victim services assisted 88,117 direct victims. This included 68,683 of victims served by VS-VAW, 14,423 assisted by VictimLink BC, and 5,012 applications submitted to CVAP.
• Among the victims assisted by VS-VAW:
  • 66,906 were direct victims and 1,776 were secondary^{Footnote 93} victims.
  • Children and youth accounted for 14% of direct victims assisted.
  • Four out of five (80%) direct victims were female.
• In 2023, British Columbia’s CVAP received 5,012 applications. Of these applications, 3,922 were direct victim applications and 1,090 were secondary victim applications.
  • Children and youth accounted for 32% of all direct victim applications.
  • Over two thirds (68%) of direct victim applications were from females.
• In 2023, VictimLink BC received 14,423 calls on the VictimLink Line. Of these calls, 9,777 calls were from individual callers and 1,363 calls were from affected 3rd parties (i.e. callers who were not the direct victim of a crime, or a service provider).
  • Children and youth accounted for 4% of all callers.
  • Nearly four out of five (78%) of callers were female.

Detailed data tables

Table 11.1: Number and percentage of victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and age group, British Columbia, 2023

Table 11.2: Number and percentage of victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and sex, British Columbia, 2023

Table 11.3: Number and percentage of female victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and age group, British Columbia, 2023

Table 11.4: Number and percentage of male victims of police-reported violent crime and traffic violations causing death or bodily harm, by type of violation and age group, British Columbia, 2023

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