Much the like the rest of Canada, stalking remains an issue across BC.
According to the latest numbers from Stats Canada, 62% of stalking victims in our country were female and all almost half of all stalking victims were between the ages of 15 and 34.
Provincially, the numbers followed a similar trend.
“In 2014, seven percent of females in British Columbia had reported that they had been victims of stalking and we had four percent of males in British Columbia who had reported that they have been victims of stalking,” says Marta Burczycka, Analyst.
The figures are even more alarming within the same age group when you break it down numerically.
“About 141,000 women aged 15 and over who indicated that they had been stalking victims and we had about 74,000 males who indicated they had been victims of stalking.”
Most forms of stalking saw a decline across the country between 2004 and 2014.
However, the number of stalking victims of unwanted digital and social media communication increased from six percent to 28% during the same time period.
“We can’t use the data that we have on hand to predict what may happen in the future. As of right now, we know from a variety of data sources the use of, digital communications like texting, email and social media is extremely prevalent in Canadian society and we know however that changes may have further effects on various social platforms including victimization and stalking but we really can’t predict what will happen in the future,” says Burczycka.
Just over one in five stalking cases in Canada saw charges laid, with assault charges the most common.