Released on: October 21, 2025
A survey that is unique in the world: 25 years of data to understand child abuse and neglect
The Survey on Family Violence and Neglect in the Lives of Québec Children has been carried out for the past 25 years among the parents of children under 17 on behalf of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux. This survey is unique in the world and stands out because of its scope and recurrence.
Data on abuse collected over such a long period of time are extremely rare. To this day, no other survey in the world has measured this phenomenon with this level of methodological rigour and over such an extended period.
An unprecedented input for research and action
These results provide a unique opportunity to understand trends, inform public policies and support actions aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect.
It is essential to share these new data with all the individuals and organizations interested in this issue, here and around the world.
On this page:
Parental attitudes towards corporal punishment
Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence
Parental attitudes towards corporal punishment
In Québec, in 2024, the proportion of parents who strongly or somewhat agree with corporal punishment ranges between 2.3% and 4.7% among mothers, and between 3.5% and 7% among fathers, depending on the type of punishment.
Fathers are more likely than mothers to agree that children need to be slapped to learn a lesson (7% vs. 4.5%) and to consider that it is acceptable to slap a child if he or she has provoked it or is being disobedient or violent (7% vs. 4.7%).
In general, over the past 25 years, the share of parents in favour of corporal punishment has declined in Québec. In Québec, in 2024, the proportion of parents who strongly or somewhat agree with corporal punishment ranges between 2.3% and 4.7% among mothers, and between 3.5% and 7% among fathers, depending on the type of punishment.
Fathers are more likely than mothers to agree that children need to be slapped to learn a lesson (7% vs. 4.5%) and to consider that it is acceptable to slap a child if he or she has provoked it or is being disobedient or violent (7% vs. 4.7%).
In general, over the past 25 years, the proportion of parents in favour of corporal punishment has declined in Québec.
Parental attitudes towards corporal punishment, parents of children aged 6 months to 17 years, Québec, 1999 to 2024
Notes
a,b For a given population and parental attitude, the same superscript letter expresses a significant difference between the proportions in the different editions of the survey at the 0.05 threshold.
1. Fathers were not included in the survey in 1999.
For 1999, data are only available for the item “Some children need to be slapped so that they will learn a lesson”, and only for mothers. The results shown are for parents who strongly or somewhat agreed with the statements on corporal punishment.
Source
Institut de la statistique du Québec, Survey on Family Violence and Neglect in the Lives of Québec Children, 1999, 2004, 2012, 2018, and 2024.
Violence against children
The situation from 1999 to 2024
Between 1999 and 2004, the proportion of children who experienced repeated psychological abuse decreased from 48% to 28% (about 454,180 Québec children aged 6 months to 17 years), while the proportion of children who experienced minor physical violence dropped from 48% to 13% (about 217,490 children).
According to the data, severe physical violence did not decline significantly between each edition of the survey, but a downward trend is noticeable between 1999 (7%) and 2024 (3.1%; about 9,120 children).
Violence against children, children aged 6 months to 17 years, Québec, 1999 to 2024
Notes
a,b,c,d,e,f For a given form of violence, the same superscript letter expresses a significant difference between the proportions in the different editions of the survey at the 0.05 threshold.
Children aged 0 to 17 years in 1999 and 2004; children aged 6 months to 17 years in 2012, 2018 and 2024.
Source
Institut de la statistique du Québec, Survey on Family Violence and Neglect in the Lives of Québec Children, 1999, 2004, 2012, 2018, and 2024.
Child neglect
Overall, regardless of the form of neglect, the proportion of children aged 6 months to 17 years who experienced neglect is estimated at 8% during the 12 months preceding the survey (about 122,400 children), while the proportion of children at risk of being neglected is estimated at 10% (about 166,600 children). In total, 289,000 children are neglected (or at risk of being neglected); this represented 18% of all minors in 2024.
Rates of neglect by form of neglect
- Cognitive or emotional: 1.7% of children (about 26,630 children).
- Supervision: 6% of children (about 100,260 children).
- Physical: 0.6% of children (about 10,430 children).
Child neglect, by form of neglect and child’s age, children aged 6 months to 17 years, Québec, 2024
| Cognitive or emotional | Supervision | Physical | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No neglect | At risk of neglect | Neglect | No neglect | At risk of neglect | Neglect | No neglect | At risk of neglect | Neglect | ||||||||||
| % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 92.1 | 6.3 | 1.7 | 87.8 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 99.0 | 0.4 | * | 0.6 | * | |||||||
| Child's age group |
||||||||||||||||||
| 6 months to 5 years | 90.1 | a | 8.0 | a | 2.0 | * | 91.8 | a | 3.9 | *a | 4.3 | a | 99.0 | 0.3 | ** | 0.7 | ** | |
| 6 to 12 years | 95.3 | a,b | 3.4 | a,b | 1.3 | * | 94.7 | a | 3.3 | b | 2.1 | *a | 99.3 | 0.3 | ** | 0.4 | ** | |
| 13 to 17 years | 89.4 | b | 8.7 | b | 1.9 | * | 74.1 | a | 12.0 | a,b | 13.9 | a | 98.5 | 0.6 | ** | 0.9 | ** | |
| Notes | ||||||||||||||||||
| * Coefficient of variation between 15% and 25%; interpret with caution. | ||||||||||||||||||
| ** Coefficient de variation supérieur à 25 %; estimation imprécise, fournie à titre indicatif seulement. | ||||||||||||||||||
| a,b Proportions in the same column with the same superscript letter are significantly different at the 0.05 threshold. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Source | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Institut de la statistique du Québec, Survey on Family Violence and Neglect in the Lives of Québec Children, 2024. |
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Neglect by age group
14% of teenagers are subject to supervision neglect, compared to 4.3% of children aged 6 months to 5 years and 2.1%* of children aged 6 to 12 years.
The survey data do not show significant differences between age groups for cognitive or emotional neglect and for physical neglect.
Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV)
In Québec, the prevalence of exposure to IPV in the 12 months preceding the survey among children aged 6 months to 17 years stands at 20%. This means that approximately 323,800 minors witnessed (or were aware of) verbal abuse and violent behaviors between their parents, or between a parent and an intimate partner or former intimate partner.
Children’s rate of exposure to IPV is lower for physical violence (2.5%) than for psychological violence (19%).
In most cases, children are exposed to one form of IPV. This is the case for nearly 19% of children (about 297,710 children). It is less common for children to be exposed to both forms of IPV (1.6%; 26,160 children).
Violence towards mothers during the perinatal period
In Québec, the biological mothers of 12% of children aged 6 months to 5 years reported experiencing intimate partner violence during the perinatal period of the child surveyed. It is therefore estimated that the mothers of 56,330 children in this age group were victims of perinatal violence (during pregnancy or the first 24 months of life of their child).
Violence from an intimate partner during the perinatal period, by perinatal period and form of violence, children aged 6 months to 5 years, Québec, 2024
| Children aged 6 months to 5 years whose mother experienced perinatal violence | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| During pregnancy only | During the child's first 2 years of life only |
During pregnancy and the child's first 2 years of life |
Perinatal violence | |||||
| % | ||||||||
| Physical violence | 1.0 | ** | 1.3 | * | 0.8 | ** | 3.0 | |
| Psychological violence | 1.4 | * | 3.4 | * | 6.2 | 11.1 | ||
| Sexual violence | 0.2 | ** | 0.7 | ** | 1.0 | ** | 1.9 | * |
| At least one form of violence | 1.9 | * | 3.6 | * | 6.5 | 12.1 | ||
Notes
* Coefficient of variation between 15% and 25%; interpret with caution.
** Coefficient of variation higher than 25%; imprecise estimate provided for information purposes
Source
Institut de la statistique du Québec, Survey on Family Violence and Neglect in the Lives of Québec Children, 2024.
More specifically, the mothers of 6.5% of children aged 6 months to 5 years (30,360 children) experienced perinatal violence during both their pregnancy and the first two years of life of the child included in the survey. This proportion is lower for violence committed during pregnancy only (1.9%*) or exclusively during the first two years of the child’s life (3.6%*).
The mothers of 9% of toddlers aged 6 months to 5 years (about 40,900 children) experienced a single form of violence during the perinatal period of the child included in the survey. This percentage is lower for mothers who experienced two (2.6%*) or three (0.7%**) forms of violence
Concurrence of different types of abuse
During the 12 months before the survey, it is estimated that 2.7% of children aged 6 months to 17 years in Québec were exposed to three types of abuse, namely violence, neglect (and risk of neglect) and exposure to intimate partner violence (44,200 children).
Concurrence of violence, neglect (or risk of neglect) and exposure of children to intimate partner violence, by addition (A) and combination (B) of the types of abuse, children aged 6 months to 17 years, Québec, 2024
Source
Institut de la statistique du Québec, Survey on Family Violence and Neglect in the Lives of Québec Children, 2024.
Older children (13 to 17 years) are more likely to have experienced two or three types of abuse (21%) than children aged 6 months to 5 years (16%) or 6 to 12 years (17%).
About the survey
The Survey on Family Violence and Neglect in the Lives of Québec Children has been carried out for the past 25 years on behalf of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux. This survey is unique in the world and stands out because of its scope and recurrence. The 2024 edition was conducted among 6,248 parents of children aged 6 months to 17 years between May 10 and August 23, 2024. The results of the survey are representative of the 1,613,500 children of that age in Québec.
To learn more, see the survey fact sheet (in French only).
