Crime and Abuse Against Seniors:
A Review of the Research Literature With Special Reference to the Canadian Situation

4. CANADIAN RESEARCH AND DATA ON CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST SENIORS

4.7 Weapons Used Against Senior Victims of Violence

In over three quarters of the cases in which seniors are victims of violence, physical force alone has been used (Table 4.10). When weapons are used, knives and other piercing instruments or blunt instruments, such as clubs, are the most common choices of assailants (Ogrodnick, 2008). Weapons are more likely to be used against male seniors who are victimized, whereas physical force is more often used against female victims. More recent data for 2007 support the finding that lethal weapons are more likely to be present when male seniors are victimized. In that year, 63 reported violent incidents against males of age 65 and over involved a firearm or firearm-like weapon, whereas there were 43 such cases when female seniors were victimized (Statistics Canada, 2009).

Table 4.10 Method of Violence Used in Family Violence Against Senior Victims by Sex, 2006

Method % of All Reported Incidents % of Incidents With Female Victims % of Incidents With Male Victims
Knife/other piercing instrument 5 4 8
Club/other blunt instrument 3 2 4
Other weapon 8 7 10
Physical force 78 81 73
Unknown 6 6 6
Total 100 100 100*

*Column total is affected by rounding error.
Source: L. Ogrodnick (2008) Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile. Ottawa: Statistics Canada (UCR2, 2006).