By Summer Rose, CNN • Updated 10th January 2017
Homicides of Canadian women rose sharply again in the latest census data.
With more than 200 women fatally stabbed, beaten, cut or strangled in the one-year period from April 2016 to March 2017, a total of 561 women have been killed in Canada since 2010.
The rises stem from increased incidents of sexual assault, robbery and drug use, along with the continued effects of high stress on vulnerable populations.
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Women of color are most affected, with a 41% increase in victims of gender-based violence over the past decade.
The question of whether Canadians are more likely to be raped, murdered or beaten than elsewhere in the world has rumbled on for some time.
According to findings by researchers at the Canadian Centre for Substance Use , the number of women murdered in Canada increased more than 25% between 2009 and 2015.
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“We have been talking about this for 30 years and have never seen it go down,” Mario Calla, a spokesman for the Canadian Coalition of Women’s Shelters, told AFP.
“There are three main reasons for why these women are experiencing violence, risk for getting raped, violence and crime,” he explained.
“One of the things we have been focused on for the last 30 years is for us to take the community into account.”
Elliott James, a social worker and organiser of the Women’s Self-Help Program said the number of unwanted pregnancies is rising, which he says demonstrates that there’s “a lot of aggression and anger out there.”
“Sexual and domestic violence is part of the broader spectrum of depression and anxiety disorders,” he said.
Crime not just against women
Male victims are few, and short, as well as struggling with a life with addiction.
Other countries suffering:
Denmark: Sexual assaults rose by 4.8% in 2017 — the highest increase ever recorded — according to the Danish Police Union.
Germany: Twenty-one percent of murders were committed by men last year — the highest number since 1970.
United Kingdom: A third of murders went to men in 2016, according to the US Department of Justice, putting the UK in the top five European countries for that statistic.
Spain: An alarming increase in violence is noted with 82% of femicides (female victims killed by men) reported to police in the first nine months of 2017.