Child maltreatment in Canada: prevalence and gender differences among youth

Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada 2026 Open access

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Authors: Britt McKinnon, Harriet L. MacMillan, Ashley Vandermorris, Katholiki Georgiades, Emma Nolan, Christina Catley, Isabelle Lévesque, L. Tonmyr
DOI: 10.24095/hpcdp.46.2.02
Cited by: 3

Abstract

This study presents the first Canadian self-reported estimates of child maltreatment (CM) from youth using data from 5256 participants aged 15 to 17 years in the 2023 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth. CM prevalence was high, particularly for emotional abuse (44.9%) and exposure to caregiver emotional intimate partner violence (39.4%). Females reported higher prevalence of sexual abuse (8.1% vs. 1.5%) and emotional abuse (52.2% vs. 35.4%) than males. Youth identifying as nonbinary or with a gender different from their sex assigned at birth reported the highest prevalence across all CM types, including 22.4% for sexual abuse and 83.7% for emotional abuse. These finding underscore the need for targeted research and policies that address structural determinants of gender-based disparities.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Child Abuse and Trauma Child Abuse and Related Trauma Intimate Partner and Family Violence

Publication details

Journal / source
Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada
Publisher
Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch (HPCDP) Public Health Agency of Canada
Volume
46
Issue
2
Pages
61–66
Publication date
1 February 2026
Language
EN