(File photo courtesy of © Can Stock Photo Inc. / lucidwaters)(File photo courtesy of © Can Stock Photo Inc. / lucidwaters)
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Women still the overwhelming majority of domestic murder victims

On the 29th anniversary of the murder of 14 women in Montreal, researchers have released a study that shows women still make up a staggering majority of the victims in domestic homicides.

The study, by the Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative, looked at domestic murders between 2010 and 2015. The CDHPI, a joint effort involving researchers at Western University and the University of Guelph, determined there were 418 incidents of domestic homicide during that time period, involving 476 victims. Adults accounted for 427 of the victims, while the other 49 were children.

According to the researchers, 79 per cent of the adult victims were women, while 21 per cent were men. Just over half of the child victims were girls.

Men were identified as suspects in 86 per cent of the incidents.

The researchers also discovered that more than half of the victims of domestic homicide were part of what they called "vulnerable populations." Fifty-three percent were either Indigenous, from immigrant or refugee populations, from rural, remote, and northern populations, or children who were killed within the context of domestic violence.

"The rate of domestic homicide is eight times higher for Indigenous women compared to non-Indigenous women in Canada," the report said. "Research suggests that colonization, poor socioeconomic status, systemic and interpersonal racism, and intergenerational violence largely contribute to the heightened risk faced by Indigenous populations."

The full report can be read here.

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