Ontario has lowest rate of family violence: StatsCan

Ontario had the lowest rate of family violence in 2010, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

There were 196 victims of police reported family violence per 100,000 of population in Ontario, compared with a Canada-wide rate of 294 victims per 100,000, according to the report. Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia were the only other two provinces that came in with a rate under the national average.

At the other end of the scale, Nunavut had 3,409 victims per 100,000 followed by Northwest Territories with 2,455. Yukon and Saskatchewan were next with 842 and 644 victims per 100,000 respectively.

Statistics Canada reported 99,000 family violence victims in total nationwide, accounting for one quarter of all victims of violent crime reported to police. About half the family victims were spouses, with the other half made up of children, parents, siblings or extended family members.