How common is cybervictimization

The experiences of youth and young adults, including those from the 2SLGBTQIA+ and persons with disabilities communities

How common is cybervictimization? PDF Version (1.33 MB)

Introduction
Key terms
Findings
Conclusion

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Introduction

Using data from a custom request to the 2019 Canadian Health Survey of Children and Youth (CHSCY) and the 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS), this product explores the prevalence of cybervictimization experiences among youth (12 to 17 years) and young adults (18 to 29 years), including those from the 2SLGBTQIA+ and persons with disabilities communities.

Key terms

Cybervictimization^{Footnote 1}: Can be described as intentional and repeated harm done through the use of technology. People on the receiving end of this harm are considered cyber victims.^{Footnote 2}
Prevalence: The percentage of people in a group who share a common experience (e.g., cybervictimization) in a specific time period.

Findings^{Footnote 3}

Almost 50% of young adults who identified as 2SLGBTQIA+ experienced cybervictimization. They were more than twice as likely to experience it as non-2SLGBTQIA+ young adults.

The largest difference between groups was in the prevalence of young adults who had reported being victimized by the posting and distribution of intimate or sexually explicit materials without consent.

2SLGBTQIA+ young adults were five times more likely to experience this type of cybervictimization compared to their non-2SLGBTQIA+ counterparts.

Figure 1: Full data is available in the image description below and Table 1 — **Figure 1: Prevalence of cybervictimization among young adults aged 18 to 29, by sexual/gender diversity, 2018**^{Footnote 4}

Table 1: Prevalence of cybervictimization among young adults aged 18 to 29, by sexual/gender diversity, 2018^{Footnote 4}
Type of cybervictimization	2SLGBTQIA+	Non-2SLGBTQIA+
Received any threatening or aggressive emails, social media messages or text messages where you were the only recipient	24.9%	11.5%
You were the target of threatening or aggressive comments spread through group emails, group text messages or postings on social media	16.5%	5.4%
Someone posted or distributed (or threatened to) intimate or sexually explicit videos or images of you without your consent	9.7%	1.8%
Someone pressured you to send, share, or post sexually suggestive or explicit images or messages	15.6%	5.6%
Someone sent you sexually suggestive or explicit images or messages when you did not want to receive them	31.7%	13.8%

Note: Percentages of 2SLGBTQIA+ and non-2SLGBTQIA+ young adults do not add to 100 percent as some respondents chose not to disclose their sexual and gender identity. In addition, cybervictimization percentages do not add up to 100 percent because respondents could also choose multiple response categories.

The prevalence of cybervictimization among youth was greater for older youth compared to younger youth.

The prevalence of cybervictimization among boys was greatest for 15-year-olds, while the prevalence of cybervictimization among girls was greatest for 17-year-olds.

Figure 2: Full data is available in the image description below and Table 2 — **Figure 2: Prevalence of cybervictimization (any type) among youth aged 12 to 17, by age and gender, 2019**^{Footnote 5}

Table 2: Prevalence of cybervictimization (any type) among youth aged 12 to 17, by age and gender, 2019^{Footnote 5}
Age	Boys	Girls
12	20.7%	19.0%
13	22.7%	23.9%
14	20.5%	25.8%
15	29.2%	26.6%
16	26.1%	26.5%
17	23.4%	30.7%

The gap in cybervictimization prevalence rates between 2SLGBTQIA+ young adults and their non-2SLGBTQIA+ counterparts was largest in young adulthood.

While non-2SLGBTQIA+ young adults in the older age groups reported less cybervictimization, 2SLGBTQIA+ young adults from each age group continued to experience high rates of cybervictimization, with the highest rates reported for young adults between the ages of 22 and 25.

Figure 3: Full data is available in the image description below and Table 3 — **Figure 3: Prevalence of cybervictimization (any type) among young adults aged 18 to 29, by age group and sexual/gender diversity, 2018**^{Footnote 5}

Table 3: Prevalence of cybervictimization (any type) among young adults aged 18 to 29, by age group and sexual/gender diversity, 2018^{Footnote 5}
Sexual/gender diversity	Age 18 to 21	Age 22 to 25	Age 26 to 29
2SLGBTQIA+	46.1%	58.1%	41.7%
Non-2SLGBTQIA+	30.2%	22.4%	17.5%

2SLGTBQIA+ young adults also reported higher rates of physical victimization (86%) compared to non-2SLGTBQIA+ young adults (54%). In particular, they reported high rates of unwanted behaviours in public (75%) and at work (53%), including physical and sexual assault (18%) committed by someone other than an intimate partner.^{Footnote 6}

The prevalence of cybervictimization among young adults was greater among those who reported more severe disabilities.

Compared to young adults with no disability, young adults with mild disabilities were nearly twice as likely to be cybervictimized and young adults with moderate to severe disabilities were nearly three times as likely to be cybervictimized.

Across all disability classes, young women were more likely to experience cybervictimization than young men.

Figure 4: Full data is available in the image description below and Table 4 — **Figure 4: Prevalence of cybervictimization (any type) among young adults aged 18 to 29, by severity of disability and gender, 2018**^{Footnote 6}

Table 4: Prevalence of cybervictimization (any type) among young adults aged 18 to 29, by severity of disability and gender, 2018^{Footnote 6}
Global Severity Class^{Footnote 7}	Men	Women	Total
No Disability	13.6%	22%	17.4%
Mild	22%	42%	34.1%
Moderate to Very Severe	39.3%	59.4%	51%

Note: Percentages will not add to 100 because some respondents chose not to disclose their sexual and gender identity.

Conclusion

While these new data answer some questions about the prevalence of cybervictimization across gender, sexuality, disability, and age, more research is needed to better understand the prevalence of cybervictimization among these groups. For example, research could explore the factors related to higher rates of cyberbullying among 2SLGBTQIA+ and disabled youth and young people. It could also investigate the impacts of compounding victimization on youth and young adults from these communities.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

The 2019 Canadian Health Survey of Children and Youth explored issues that have an impact on the physical and mental health of children and youth. Survey content included questions on harmful Internet posts; threats or insults through email, instant messaging, text messaging or online games; and the purposeful exclusion from an online community.

The 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces explored Canadians' experiences about personal experiences at home and in the workplace, in public spaces and online. Survey content included questions about inappropriate behaviours experienced online while using a cell phone or smartphone, the most serious incident experienced online while using one of these devices, the perpetrators of these incidents, and the ensuing consequences.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Kalia, D., & Aleem, S. (2017). Cyber Victimization Among Adolescents: Examining the Role of Routine Activity Theory. Journal of Psychosocial Research, 12(1), 223–232. And, Maxwell, E., Khanna, N., & Craig, W. (2022). Examining key populations in the context of implementing cyberbullying prevention and intervention initiatives: Literature review on the role of the family. Public Safety Canada.

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Footnote 3

The data described below are descriptive, meaning that no statistical tests were conducted. All interpretations are based on the percentages listed.

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Footnote 4

Statistics Canada, Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces, 2018.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

Statistics Canada, Canadian Health Survey of Children and Youth, 2019.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

Jaffray, B. (2020). Experiences of violent victimization and unwanted sexual behaviours among gay, lesbian, bisexual and other sexual minority people, and the transgender population, in Canada, 2018. Statistics Canada.

Return to footnote 6 referrer

Footnote 7

Severity scores increase with the number of disability types, the level of difficulty associated with the disability and the frequency of the activity limitation. The name assigned to each class is simply intended to facilitate use of the severity score. It is not a label or judgement concerning the person's level of disability.

Return to footnote 7 referrer

Date modified:: 2025-03-24

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How common is cybervictimization

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Introduction

Key terms

Findings^{Footnote 3}

Conclusion

How common is cybervictimization

Introduction

Key terms

FindingsFootnote 3

Conclusion

Findings^{Footnote 3}