Quick Facts

The information below is taken from documents published by the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Women's Directorate together with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

• Sexual assault is about power and control, not sexual desire.

• Even though sexual violence often goes unreported, there are 460,000 reports of sexual assault in Canada each year. 

• Of every 1,000 sexual assaults, only 33 are ever reported to police. Of these 33 reported cases, 12 result in charges being laid, 6 are prosecuted and 3 lead to a conviction.

• Sexual assault is a gender-based crime whose victims are overwhelmingly women—more than 93% of reported adult victims are female, and 99% of accused perpetrators are male.

• One in three women will experience some form of sexual assault in her lifetime. 

• Sexual assault victimization rates are five times higher for women under 35 than for women 35 or over. 

• Between 15% and 25% of college- and university-aged women will experience some form of sexual assault during their academic career.

• Over half of sexual assaults of postsecondary students involve drugs or alcohol.
• Women with disabilities are three times as likely to be forced into sexual activity through force or the use of threats as women without disabilities.
• Worldwide, 35% of all women have experienced either physical or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence. 
• In 82% of sexual assaults, the assault is committed by someone known to the victim. This can include, for example, a family member, a friend or an acquaintance.