Statistics Canada’s latest analysis of 2025 survey responses points to markedly higher reported violent victimisation among LGB+ and gender-diverse people across Canada. The figures offer an important snapshot of safety and lived experience, while also underlining the limits of self-reported data and the need for careful, respectful interpretation.
The gap is visible in both recent and lifetime experiences
The headline finding is stark: 12% of LGB+ respondents and 15% of gender-diverse respondents said they had experienced at least one violent incident in the previous year. That compares with 3.6% of heterosexual respondents and 4.1% of cisgender respondents, according to Statistics Canada. [2]
The difference grows when respondents were asked about experiences since age 15. Sixty-six per cent of LGB+ people and 69% of gender-diverse people reported victimisation, compared with 38% of heterosexual people and 40% of cisgender people. [3]
What the survey measured, and what it didn't
These figures describe reported experiences rather than every incident that occurred. Survey respondents answered questions about violence, so the results depend on whether people recognised, remembered and felt able to disclose what happened. [4]
The analysis also excluded violence committed by intimate partners. That matters because it means the findings shouldn't be read as a complete measure of all violence affecting 2SLGBTQ+ communities. Nor do the results prove why the differences exist. [5]
Gender diversity and sexual identity can overlap
Some people in the survey were both LGB+ and gender diverse. Among this group, 74% reported having experienced violence since age 15, the highest lifetime figure highlighted in the analysis. [6]
That overlap is a useful reminder that broad labels can conceal very different experiences. A single percentage can show the scale of a pattern, but it can't capture the circumstances, setting or emotional impact behind each response.
Why the numbers deserve careful attention
The results don't point to one simple explanation, and the release doesn't claim one. Factors such as discrimination, social exclusion and barriers to support may matter, but those questions require further research rather than assumptions drawn from the table alone. [2]
There is also a practical lesson for anyone reading the figures. Comparisons between groups should be treated as evidence of unequal reported experiences, not as a judgement about individuals or communities. Good data should sharpen public understanding, not flatten people into statistics.
What happens next?
Statistics Canada published the analysis on 6 October 2026, giving policymakers, researchers and support organisations a fresh national reference point. The next challenge is turning that evidence into safer services, better reporting pathways and support that people can actually access. [3]
For readers affected by the findings, the figures may feel heavy, but they can also help make an often-hidden problem harder to dismiss. Numbers cannot tell the whole story, yet they can make space for more honest conversations.
The survey offers a clearer view of unequal safety, but meaningful progress will depend on what follows the data.
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