LGBTQ people more likely to experience assault than heterosexuals: StatsCan

The survey found nearly 1 million Canadians aged 15 and older -- or about 2.65 per cent of the country's population -- identified as a sexual minority. About 75,000 Canadians -- or about 0.2 per cent of the population -- identified as Trans.

A new survey from Statistics Canada (Stats Can) finds members of the LGBTQ+ community are nearly three times more likely than heterosexuals to experience sexual or physical assault. The results, which were published Wednesday, are from a 2018 questionnaire.

The survey found nearly 1 million Canadians aged 15 and older — or about 2.65 per cent of the country’s population — identified as a sexual minority. About 75,000 Canadians — or about 0.2 per cent of the population — identified as Trans.

OTHER STATS

According to the survey:

11 per cent of sexual minority Canadians reported an incident of sexual or physical assault in the past 12 months, compared to 4 per cent of the majority population.
59 per cent of sexual minorities reported at least one incident of assault at some point since the age of 15, compared to 37 per cent of the majority population. The study did not include assaults by intimate partners.
57 per cent of sexual minorities reported being the victim of inappropriate sexual behaviour in public in the previous 12 months, compared to 22 per cent of heterosexuals.

The findings are reminiscent of a July 2019 study compiled by the Institute of Physics, the Royal Astronomy Academy, and the Royal Society of Chemistry, which found LGBTQ+ scientists are nearly twice as likely to experience on-the-job harassment when compared to other workers.

Nearly 600 STEM professionals in several industries across the UK participated. About 18 per cent of LGBTQ scientists reported workplace harassment, bullying, or exclusionary behaviour, compared to 10 per cent of non-LGBTQ scientists.