The age group with the highest representation for crime resulting in bodily harm is between 12 and 17 years old.
It would come as a surprise to many to learn that the most common victim of violent crime is under 18 years of age, StatsCanada's 2017 report on violent crimes is helpfully broken down by both age and gender, which allows for an insightful view on how different groups are affected by what crimes. These statistics raise some concerning questions regarding which age group is most represented in this type of crime.
The data here shows that women between the ages of 12 and 17 are the most likely to report being victims of violent crime, regardless of gender. Further examination of the data reveals exactly where this lead come from.
Breaking down the data further, it can be seen that the cause for the spike in victimization for women aged 12 to 17 is due to sexual assault. This age group is so grossly over represented due to the general vulnerability and presence of authority figures, both schools and sports groups are major points of concern for these types of crimes. There has been a notable increase in sexual assault reports since 2017. This is likely due to the #MeToo movement that began in response to the Weinstein sexual assault cases.
This graph here shows where young males are being over represented, though not to a severe degree. Young men are more likely to be involved in physical altercations with each other, such as schoolyard fights, which leads to both being charged with assault.
With these crime types combined this youthful age group far overshadows that on any other group, despite being well below the age of majority.
