P.E.I. has Canada's lowest rate of reported sexual assaults, StatsCan says

The rate of police-reported sexual assault offences on P.E.I. is the lowest in the country, according to a report released Tuesday by Statistics Canada.

The report looked at the rate over a six-year period, from 2009-14. It found the rate per 100,000 population on P.E.I. was 48.3. The national rate was 62.1.

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In the report, Statistics Canada noted sexual assault is the most under-reported violent crime in Canada. A previous Statistics Canada report found that only five per cent of incidents were reported to police in 2014.

An estimated 38 per cent of physical assaults are reported to police.

About 98 per cent of police-reported sexual assaults in Canada were level one offences an assault without a weapon and without evidence of bodily harm.

Rates lower in major cities

With no major cities on P.E.I., the province went against a national trend where the rates were higher in rural areas.

In census metropolitan areas urban areas with a population of 100,000 or more the rate was 53.1. Outside of CMAs, it was 83.0.

The highest rates in the country were in the territories, where they ranged from 204.8 to 567.4 per 100,000.

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