Despite a sharp decrease in victims of crimes in the territory since 2009, spousal violence remains stable.

New statistics released Wednesday by Statistic Canada show that the rates of victims of violent crimes fell 56 per cent in the territory from 2009 to 2014.

That rate, defined as violent victimization, includes sexual assault, robbery, and physical assault.

The data come from the General Social Survey, which asks Canadians every five years to “report on their personal experiences of victimization,” Stats Canada said.

Victims of break and enter, the theft of motor vehicles, household property and vandalism – the household victimization – is also down 40 per cent.

But the rate of spousal violence remains almost unchanged for the Yukon.

For the territories, one in 10 people experienced spousal violence in the past five years.

For Hillary Aitken, program co-ordinator at the Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre, it just shows how pervasive spousal violence is.

“We are seeing some troubling trends here: the territories continue to have rates of violence higher than our provincial counterparts, the severity of violence remains high for victims of spousal violence, and violent victimization is higher among women,” she said.

Spousal violence transcends any culture, religion or background, she said.

That means that one of the solutions is for all men to take action.

“This report also tells me that since the majority of offenders continue to be male, men have an opportunity  – and a responsibility – to be positive role models and leaders in our communities by calling out violence when they see it,” she said.

One problem, for spousal violence, is the lack of safe affordable housing, Aitken said.

There are shelters and transitional places, but all of those are limited-time options.

“Victims may put up with more abuse because it’s a roof over their head,” she said.

“We continue to work with Yukon Housing, but it’s far too slow for our liking.”

The Yukon is also the territory with the lowest reporting rates for spousal violence.

While abuses were reported in 61 per cent of cases in the Northwest Territories and half of cases in Nunavut, the Yukon’s rate is at 23 per cent.

That’s also lower than the average for provinces: 29 per cent.

Victims of spousal violence will often confide in friends and family, Aitken notes.

“We can all play a role in being supportive and non-judgmental,” she said.

For the territories, 2,000 households were polled, said Samuel Perreault, who co-authored the report.

That report is different from the annual report put out by Stats Can using police-reported crimes.

The GSS survey measures crimes not reported to the police. It also collects socio-economic indicators about victims of crimes.

That led the authors to conclude that aboriginal identity is not a factor that leads to increased victimization when taking into account all socio-economic factors.

Young women, drug users, and people who were abused in their childhood are more at risk of violence.

But because of the legacy of colonialism – intergenerational trauma and institutional racism – these factors are more present among First Nation communities.

When crime rates go down, it’s expected spousal violence rates will also be impacted, Perreault said.

And it’s the case for the provinces.

He couldn’t explain why the spousal violence rates stayed the same for the territories.

Spousal violence is quite different from other violent crimes, he noted.

It has different patterns, takes place in a relationship, and takes many forms, including psychological and financial abuse.

The Justice department told the Star today it is still reviewing the results of the survey.

It did note that since 2012, it hadn’t seen any major difference in the number of files opened for most offences.

“The number of victims seeking service has remained fairly consistent over the past several years,” said department spokesperson Tyler Plaunt.

Plaunt insisted that victim services can provide information and support to victims of crimes regardless of whether they’ll report the crimes to the police.

“Victim Services provides crisis support, helps victims understand their options, shares information about court processes, including how victims can participate, provides information for victims about their rights and provides referrals to other agencies,” said Plaunt.

The branch has offices in Whitehorse, Watson Lake and Dawson City.

Victim service workers are assigned to all other communities and travel there.