Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian Victim Services (ICCVS)

Detailed information for June to July

The purpose of the Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian Victim Services survey is to collect information on the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on the operations of Canadian victim service programs, including factors that have affected their ability to provide services and how they have adapted their operations to continue to serve victims.

Data release - Scheduled for July 30, 2020

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian Victim Services survey collects data through an electronic questionnaire from victim service programs that provided direct services to primary or secondary victims of crime. The survey results will provide the justice community, academics and the public with information on the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on the delivery of services to victims of crime.

Reference period: March 15, 2020, to the date of the survey

Subjects

• Crime and justice
• Victims and victimization

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population for the survey was organizations offering victim services to primary or secondary victims of crime. This includes system-based, police-based, court-based victim services as well as sexual assault centres and community-based victim services.

Instrument design

The Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian Victim Services survey questionnaire was designed using information and questions from similar victim services surveys, and questions were tested with selected provincial and territorial officials involved in the delivery of victim services. It is a respondent completed electronic questionnaire.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.

The frame for the survey was the list of victim services from the Department of Justice Canada Victim Services Directory in 2020, and complemented by the respondents of the 2011/2012 Victim Services Survey.

The sample of victim services in Canada was selected based on estimated size: only the largest services with an email address were selected.

The unit of count for this survey is the individual victim service agency reporting to the survey.

The questionnaire was sent to a sample of 81 victim services in Canada based on estimated size. Size was estimated based on information on number of victims served reported by victim services to the 2011/2012 Victim Services Survey. Where this information was not available, additional victim services were added to the sample if they were located in larger population centres (census metropolitan areas or census areas).

Also, victim services were only included in the sample if a contact email address was available from the Victim Services directory, online or though other readily available sources.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: June 29, 2020 to July 13, 2020

Responding to this survey is voluntary.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

Respondents were contacted by email and invited to complete the survey. The data were collected using a self-response electronic questionnaire.

Furthermore, four reminders were sent to encourage respondents to respond to the survey.

Data collection is in English and French.

Questionnaire takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

This methodology does not apply.

Imputation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Estimation

This methodology does not apply.

Quality evaluation

Because of the non-representative nature of the survey, caution must be exercised when interpreting these data, because data collection is conducted on a voluntary basis and therefore subject to multiple biases.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

The Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics has a policy of not releasing any tables or cross-tabulations that may identify a particular respondent unless respondents have agreed to the publication of their data. Generally, cells with a count of less than 3 are not released.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

This methodology type does not apply to this survey.

Data accuracy

This methodology does not apply.