Rising Domestic Assault Accusations: What Is Behind the Increase?

Yes, there have been rising domestic assault accusations across Canada. Determining what is behind the increase is not clear. It is likely the confluence of many factors that is behind the increase. In today’s blog article we are going to outline what we believe are the main factors behind the increase.

COVID-19

Covid is the first influence. When Covid started in 2020, domestic assault accusations began to rise. This was due to people having to stay home and secure in place. Because of these policies, domestic assaults spiked. One influence that likely kept a damper on domestic assault was the fact that at least one partner left the house to go to work. Once that went away and two fighting partners were required to stay home, domestic violence increased.

Is It Increasing?

Another way to look at it is whether the domestic assault is rising or just the reporting of domestic assault. Some would argue that beyond the COVID-19 effect, what is rising is mostly reporting, but the domestic assault is actually not necessarily increasing. Scientists know that domestic violence is vastly underreported. What we may be seeing is the reporting catching up to the actual rate of crime.

Why Would Reporting Be Increasing?

There are several reasons. The best reason is that maybe police practice and training is evolving to better address domestic violence and potential domestic violence. That is what we hope for.

Keep in mind that compared to other provinces, BC has remained relatively flat compared to many other provinces. Saskatchewan and Ontario, for example, have had much bigger rising rates of domestic violence than BC.

If you have been charged with a criminal offence, please contact Gagan Nahal for a free consultation in Vancouver at (604) 527-4769 as soon as possible. Mr. Nahal’s law practice focuses on criminal defence law, and he has extensive experience in this area of the law.

Gagan Nahal is a criminal defence lawyer based in Surrey, British Columbia, although he has represented clients across Canada. He works vigorously and tirelessly defending his clients.

If you have any questions about this article or you would like to talk to Mr. Nahal, please call him directly at (604) 527-4769.