Family violence: Demonstration study of sentencing outcomes

Family members convicted of most forms of violent crimes against spouses, children and seniors were less likely than other violent offenders to get a prison term, according to a demonstration analysis of police and court records from 1997/98 to 2001/2002.

For the first time, the 2004 edition of the report Family Violence in Canada compares sentences in violent cases involving a family member with sentences in cases that did not involve a family member. The study focussed on 18 urban areas in four provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

According to records from 1997/98 to 2001/02, judges handed down prison terms in 19% of convicted cases of spousal violence. In contrast, they incarcerated about 29% of offenders who were convicted of other violent offences.

Although the difference in incarceration rates between spouses and other offenders became smaller when looking at specific violent offences, spouses were still less likely to receive prison terms for almost all types of violent crimes. The one exception to this was criminal harassment, also known as stalking. Of those convicted of criminal harassment, one-third of spouses received a prison term, compared with one-quarter of offenders who were not convicted of spousal violence.

Family members convicted of physical violence against children received less harsh sentences, compared with cases that did not involve family members. But the opposite was true in convicted cases of sexual assault. Family members convicted of sexually assaulting children received harsher sentences than others convicted of sexually assaulting a child to whom they were unrelated. Further, parents convicted of sexually assaulting their children were more likely than other family members to receive a prison sentence.

Family members convicted of violence against a senior aged 65 years and older were also less likely to be incarcerated. However, this difference can be largely explained by the fact that non-family members were convicted of more serious violent crimes.

The differences in incarceration rates between family and non-family members may be attributed to aggravating and mitigating factors taken into account at sentencing, which could not be measured in the current study. Some examples of these factors include past criminal history, the impact of the sentence on the family, and the wishes of the victim.

Third of convicted cases involved spousal violence

In the 18 urban centres for which data were available, adult criminal courts processed nearly 47,000 cases of violent crime between 1997/98 and 2001/02 in which convictions were recorded. Of these, 35% involved spouses. The next most-common convictions were those involving friends or acquaintances (32%), followed by strangers (21%) and other family members (8%). The relationship of the victim to the offender was unknown in 4% of convicted cases.

Among the cases of spousal violence involving a single conviction, 92% involved male spousal offenders.

Overall, the two most-common sanctions for violent crimes against spouses and non-spouses were prison and probation. Together, they accounted for 91% of the most serious sentences imposed on spouses and 82% of those imposed on people who were not spouses.

Convictions in violent cases involving spouses resulted in prison in 19% of cases, compared with 29% of those cases that did not involve a spouse. The likelihood of a prison sentence tended to increase with the seriousness of the violent offence. For example, spouses convicted of major assault had an incarceration rate almost double that for spouses convicted of common assault.

Probation was by far the most-common sanction in cases of spousal violence (72%). Probation was less common among violent offenders who were not spouses (53%).

As with non-spousal violence, men convicted of spousal violence received harsher sentences than did women. This was the case across a range of violent crimes, including convictions for common assault, major assault, uttering threats, and criminal harassment.

Individuals most likely to receive prison in convictions of spousal violence were typically men, who were estranged from their partner, and under the age of 25. Spouses who inflicted major physical injury or death were much more likely than other spouses to receive a prison sentence.

Individuals convicted of sexually abusing their children receive harsher sentences than other offenders

According to the police and court files in the subset of 18 urban centres studied, between 1997/98 and 2001/02, there were more than 4,000 convicted cases of assault against children and youth under the age of 18.

Men were implicated in 84% of convicted cases of assaults against children and youth. About 4 out of every 10 convicted men were family members of the child victim, compared with 5 out of 10 convicted women.

Family members convicted of a single violent offence against children and youth were less likely to receive a prison sentence. About 15% of convicted family members got a prison term, compared with 28% of convicted offenders who were friends or acquaintances and 23% who were strangers. Much of the difference in incarceration rates was restricted to convictions for physical assault.

In sexual assault cases against children, family members tended to receive more severe sentences than those who were not family members. Almost half (47%) of family members convicted of sexual offences against children and youth received a prison sentence, compared with 39% of non-family members.

Among family violence cases, judges were more likely to impose a prison sentence when the victim was a girl and the convicted offender was a man. This may be explained by the finding that girls were more likely than boys to be victims of sexual assault and that men were more likely the perpetrator of sexual offences.

In addition, family violence cases involving children under three years of age, the most vulnerable to major physical injury, were most likely to result in a prison sentence.

For both physical and sexual assault convictions involving children, the prison term imposed on convicted family members tended to be longer than for individuals who were not family members.

Family members less likely than other offenders to receive prison for violence against seniors

Police and court records in the 18 urban centres in the study included just over 700 convicted cases of assaults against seniors aged 65 years and older. The convicted perpetrators of this form of violence were equally as likely to be family members of the victim or non-family members.

For those cases with a conviction for a single violent offence, prison sentences were more common among convicted offenders who were not family members (36%) than among family members (22%).

This difference occurred primarily because offenders who were not family members were more likely than family members to be convicted of more serious types of offences. When examining the likelihood of incarceration by offence, the difference between the two types of offenders was much smaller. While family members were less likely to receive a term of imprisonment for the major assault of seniors, they were equally as likely as other offenders to get prison for common assault.

Charges laid in 8 out of 10 incidents of spousal violence against women

According to 2002 data from a subset of 94 police services representing 56% of the national volume of crime, charges were laid in 8 of 10 episodes of spousal violence against women, compared with 7 in 10 episodes against men. The most frequently occurring charge in spousal violence incidents was common assault (63% of charges), followed by major assault (assault levels 2 and 3) (13%), uttering threats (12%), criminal harassment (7%), sexual assault (2%), and other violent offences (3%).

While common assault was the most frequent charge for both current and ex-spouses, current spouses were much more likely to be charged with this crime (73% versus 43%). A large proportion (45%) of crimes committed by ex-spouses involved uttering threats and criminal harassment (stalking).

Rates of spousal violence have dropped in 2001 and 2002, following a steady increase between 1998 and 2000. Although rates for female victims are on average over five times higher than those for males, trends in spousal violence are similar for both male and female spousal victims.

Murder–suicides occur in a third of spousal homicides against women

According to homicide data, between 1993 and 2002, 31% of males who killed their spouses also committed suicide compared with 3% of female spouses.

In 61% of chargeable cases, the murder of a female spouse resulted in the most serious charge of first-degree murder. According to the Criminal Code, first-degree murder involves homicides that were planned and deliberate, or were caused by the accused committing or attempting to commit another serious crime, such as sexual assault.

In contrast, the murder of a male spouse resulted in first-degree murder charges 32% of the time. The majority, about 56%, resulted in a second-degree murder charges.

Data also show that between 1993 and 2002 women were four times as likely as men to be killed by their spouse. The risk was also higher among younger women, and among common-law spouses.

For both women and men, annual rates of spousal homicide have declined by about one-half during the past three decades. The homicide rate for women dropped from 16.5 per million married women in 1974 to 8.1 in 2002, while the rate for men decreased from 4.4 to 2.0 spousal homicides per million married men.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 3302, 3312, 3315 and 4504.

The 2004 edition of Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile (85-224-XIE, free) is now available online. From the Our products and services page, under Browse our Internet publications, choose Free, then Justice. A hard copy is also available from the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence (1-800-267-1291; 613-957-2938).

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (1-800-387-2231; 613-951-9023), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.