Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile

The study, "Spousal homicide or attempts and prior police contact for spousal abuse," published today in the 2007 edition of Family Violence in Canada, illustrates that spousal homicide or attempted spousal homicide can occur without prior police knowledge or warning.

The study analyzed data on persons accused of spousal homicide or attempts and their previous contacts with police for spousal abuse over an 11-year time frame, from 1995 to 2005 inclusive.

The study found that perpetrators of spousal homicide or attempted homicide were overwhelmingly male (82%) compared with 18% who were female. The proportion of male spousal homicide offenders who were "repeat" spousal abusers was 3.5 times greater than that of their female counterparts. Males were also more likely to be "chronic" spousal abusers.