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Gender-based violence and unwanted sexual behaviour in Canada, 2018: Initial findings from the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces: Highlights
* Gender-based violence-defined as violence that is committed against someone based on their gender identity, gender expression or perceived gender-encompasses a range of behaviours, not all of which meet the threshold of criminal behaviour. Five dimensions of gender-based violence are explored: unwanted sexual behaviour while in public, unwanted sexual behaviour online, unwanted sexual behaviour in the workplace, sexual assault, and physical assault.
* Women were more likely than men to have been sexually assaulted or have experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in public, unwanted behaviour online, or unwanted behaviour in the workplace in the 12 months preceding the survey, and this was the case even when controlling for other factors. In contrast, men were more likely to have been physically assaulted.
* Not only were women more likely to experience these behaviours, the impact of them was also greater. Women were more likely than men to have changed their routines or behaviours and to have experienced negative emotional consequences. Women were also more likely to have talked to somebody about their experience following an incident of unwanted behaviour or assault.
* Women were more likely than men to have experienced multiple incidents in the past 12 months and to have experienced unwanted behaviour or violence while on the street versus while in another public place, such as a bar or restaurant.
* Beside gender, being younger, having experienced harsh parenting, having been physically or sexually abused by an adult during childhood, and being single, never married, all play a role in experiencing gender-based violence.
* One in three (32%) women and one in eight (13%) men experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in public. For both men and women, younger age and sexual orientation increased the odds of experiencing this behaviour more than any other factor. More specifically, being younger and of a sexual orientation other than heterosexual was associated with much higher odds.
* The most common types of unwanted sexual behaviour experienced by women in public were unwanted sexual attention (25%), unwanted physical contact (17%), and unwanted comments about their sex or gender (12%). These were also the three most common types of behaviour...