Violence Against Girls
Violence against girls is one of the most devastating and persistent barriers to equality in Canada. At Justice for Girls, we have worked with hundreds of teenage girls over the past 26 years—and every single one of them has been impacted by male violence. This violence is not accidental or isolated. It is a systemic and gendered reality rooted in patriarchal structures, age-based power imbalances, and intersecting forms of discrimination.
A Human Rights Violation
Under international human rights law, every girl has the right to live free from violence, exploitation, and discrimination. Canada is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), both of which place legal obligations on governments to prevent and respond to violence against girls. Article 19 of the CRC guarantees protection from “all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse.”
Yet despite these protections, girls in Canada are routinely violated in their homes, schools, and communities—with little to no accountability for perpetrators.
A National Crisis
Girls experience violence in every sphere of life—at home, in school, in government care, on the streets, and in their most intimate relationships. For homeless girls, violence is near-constant and often life-threatening. The question is not whether they have been harmed, but how often, how severely, and how deeply the consequences have shaped their lives.
Key statistics paint a stark picture:
- 54% of girls under 16 in Canada have experienced unwanted sexual attention1
- 24% have experienced rape or coercive sex2
- 17% have experienced incest3
- Girls aged 12–17 are victimized at nearly 6 times the rate of younger girls and twice the rate of adult women4
- Although girls under 18 account for only 5% of reported sexual assault cases, they constitute nearly half of all victims, with the highest rates among girls aged 13 to 15.5
These numbers show that sexual assault is overwhelmingly gendered—and teenage girls are among the most vulnerable.
Key Actions
Related reports and submissions
Power, Discrimination, and Exploitation
Feminist analysis tells us that violence against girls is not random—it is systemic. Girls are targeted specifically because of their age, gender, and social position. Adult men use their relative power—whether financial, physical, or institutional—to control, manipulate, and exploit girls, particularly those living in poverty or instability.6
Justice for Girls has witnessed these dynamics firsthand. Time and again, older men offer alcohol, cigarettes, transportation, housing, or money to lure teen girls into dependent, exploitative relationships. This is not consent. This is grooming, coercion, and abuse of power.7
These predatory relationships are especially prevalent among girls who are disconnected from support systems—those in foster care, homeless, or fleeing violence. In these cases, men weaponize girls’ unmet needs to create a sense of obligation, loyalty, or dependency. The imbalance of power is clear—and it is deadly.8
Institutional Failures
Girls who experience violence are routinely failed by the very institutions that are supposed to protect them. Our systems—rooted in adult-centric, colonial, and patriarchal norms—often respond with disbelief, blame, or indifference. These failures deepen the trauma and increase girls’ vulnerability:
- Child protection workers often disbelieve girls or leave them in abusive homes9
- Police frequently minimize or ignore reports, particularly when victims are Indigenous, poor, or racialized10
- Schools punish girls for trauma-related behaviours instead of offering trauma-informed support11
- Healthcare providers miss signs of abuse or dismiss girls’ pain, especially if they don’t “present” as typical patients12
The result: most girls do not report. Of all sexual assaults in Canada, only 5% are reported to police—and even fewer lead to charges. Girls often tell us that silence feels safer than disclosure.13
Impact on Mental Health, Education, and Equality
The consequences of violence ripple across every aspect of a girl’s life. Many girls drop out of school due to trauma, unsafe environments, or being pushed out for “behavioural issues” that are actually coping responses to violence. Others experience chronic mental health struggles, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and substance use.
We’ve seen how male violence leads directly to:
- School failure and disconnection
- Homelessness and sexual exploitation
- Mental health crises and addiction
- Intergenerational trauma and marginalization
These outcomes are not individual failures—they are systemic failures. When girls are abused and institutions turn away, the result is lifelong harm and inequality.14
Our Feminist, Rights-Based Response
At Justice for Girls, we take a feminist, intersectional, and rights-based approach to ending violence against girls. For over two decades, we have worked to dismantle the conditions that allow this violence to persist. We recognize that violence is both a cause and consequence of girls’ social inequality—and addressing it requires political will, accountability, and structural change.
We:
- Advocate alongside girls experiencing violence and exploitation
- Push for systemic reform in policing, child welfare, healthcare, and education
- Train professionals in trauma-informed, youth-centred, anti-oppressive practices
- Elevate girls’ voices in public policy, legal reform, and international human rights bodies
- Demand accountability from institutions and perpetrators
- Promote girls’ leadership in advocating for their own rights and safety
A Call to Action
We envision a world where girls are free to live, learn, and thrive—without violence, fear, or discrimination. To achieve this vision, we must confront the root causes of violence: misogyny, poverty, racism, and adultism.
We call on governments, institutions, and communities to act with urgency and integrity—to believe girls, protect them, and hold perpetrators and systems accountable.
Girls are not disposable. Their lives and voices matter. Justice demands nothing less.
References
- Statistics Canada. (2023). Canadian Community Health Survey, 2021: Experiences of unwanted sexual attention among youth aged 12 to 17. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230307/dq230307a-eng.htm ↩︎
- Public Health Agency of Canada. (2022). Sexual violence in Canada: Facts and figures. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/sexual-health-sexually-transmitted-infections/sexual-violence-canada-facts-figures.html ↩︎
- Statistics Canada. (2022). Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile, 2021. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00007-eng.htm ↩︎
- Canadian Women’s Foundation. (2023). The facts about sexual violence against girls and young women. https://canadianwomen.org/the-facts/sexual-violence/ ↩︎
- Statistics Canada. (2023). Police-reported sexual offences in Canada, 2022. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230621/dq230621a-eng.htm ↩︎
- Brownridge, D. A. (2006). Partner violence against women with disabilities: Prevalence, risk, and explanations. Violence Against Women, 12(9), 805–822. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801206292685 ↩︎
- Native Women’s Association of Canada. (2017). Understanding Violence against Indigenous Women and Girls: A Literature Review. https://www.nwac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Understanding-Violence-against-Indigenous-Women-and-Girls.pdf
Canadian Women’s Foundation. (2024). The Facts about Women and Poverty in Canada. https://canadianwomen.org/the-facts/womens-poverty/ ↩︎ - Public Safety Canada. (2021). Youth Trafficking in Canada: Situational Assessment. https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/yth-trffckng/index-en.aspx ↩︎
- Office of the Auditor General of Canada. (2021). Report of the Auditor General of Canada – Child welfare. https://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_202111_02_e_43833.html ↩︎
- Statistics Canada. (2022). Experiences of First Nations, Métis and Inuit women in Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2022001/article/00004-eng.htm
Amnesty International Canada. (2019). Trapped: The ongoing forced sterilization and denial of reproductive rights of Indigenous women in Canada. https://www.amnesty.ca/sites/default/files/Trapped_Forced_Sterilization_Canada.pdf ↩︎ - British Columbia Teachers’ Federation. (2020). Supporting students who have experienced trauma. https://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/Issues/HealthAndSafety/SupportingStudentsTrauma.pdf
Justice for Girls. (2018). A Space to Thrive: Young Women in Poverty Say Why They Need Integrated Support, Advocacy and Education Services of Their Own.
Available at: https://www.justiceforgirls.org/report-submission/a-space-to-thrive-young-women-in-poverty-say-why-they-need-integrated-support-advocacy-and-education-services-of-their-own/ ↩︎ - Canadian Paediatric Society. (2022). Recognizing and responding to child maltreatment: A guide for health care providers. https://www.cps.ca/en/documents/position/child-maltreatment ↩︎
- Statistics Canada. (2023). Police-reported sexual offences in Canada, 2022. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230621/dq230621a-eng.htm ↩︎
- Canadian Women’s Foundation. (2023). The Facts About Violence Against Women. https://canadianwomen.org/the-facts/violence-against-women/
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2021). The Chief Public Health Officer’s Report on the State of Public Health in Canada 2021: A Vision for a Healthy Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/chief-public-health-officer-reports-state-public-health-canada/2021-vision-healthy-canada.html
Statistics Canada. (2020). Mental Health and Substance Use Among Youth in Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2020009/article/00002-eng.htm ↩︎
Justice for Girls Recommends
Fund girls’ rights, advocacy and anti-violence centres
Provide supported girl-only emergency shelters and transitional housing to girls escaping violence and/or who are homeless
Ensure all health and mental health professionals are trained to respond to sexualized violence and exploitation in the lives of teenage girls, including an understanding of the impacts of intersecting forms of oppression such as colonialism and poverty
Addiction treatment for girls in British Columbia must fund girl-only detox services, and residential and non-residential addiction treatment programs, to respond to the multiple issues girls face, especially male violence and exploitation