Montreal’s public health department says the proportion of young people who have experienced some form of violence — whether physical, sexual, or psychological — in their romantic relationships is on the rise.
As well, eight per cent of Montreal high school students aged 14 or older have reported at least one forced sexual encounter in their lifetime. That figure is higher than in two previous surveys, when the average stood both times at five per cent.
The percentage is higher for girls than for boys. In the most recent survey, conducted during the 2022-23 academic year, 12 per cent of girls reported at least one experience of sexual violence; four per cent of boys did.
The data is from the third edition of a survey on the health of high schoolers, for which more than 70,000 students across Quebec aged 14 and older were polled. Previous surveys were conducted in the 2010-11 academic year and the 2016-2017 year.
Results specifically from for Montreal were taken from 5,800 students from 92 schools between October 2022 and May 2023.
“We have seen an upward trend since 2010-11, which was the first edition of the survey,” said Salomé Lemieux, a research officer at the health department and author of the report.
“The figure of eight per cent is still worrying because … it refers to forced sexual relations, whether by a young person or an adult.”
In Montreal, 38 per cent of young people who had been in a romantic relationship report having been a victim of one or more forms of violence (physical, psychological, or sexual) from their partner. In 2010-11, the figure reported was 31 per cent.
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“This is also an upward trend since 2010-11, but it can be explained by various factors, such as the fact that technology is now increasingly present in our daily lives,” Lemieux said in an interview.
“Young people have new places where they experience violence: For example, digital surveillance, young people monitoring their social networks, or geolocation for the purpose of controlling the other person are phenomena that we are now seeing a little more,” she said.
As for why the numbers are rising, Lemieux points to the #MeToo movement, which has encouraged victims to speak out since it began in 2017 and has made it easier for young people to recognize and feel more comfortable talking about sexual violence.
“We can ask ourselves about these figures: Is this really an increase in cases, or could it also be an increase in reports of forced sexual relations?” Lemieux said.
She also noted the most recent data was collected toward the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, following a period of social isolation and when youth had reported a degradation of their interpersonal relationships. Other factors, such as low self-esteem, psychological distress, and problematic alcohol consumption, are associated with an increased risk of a young person experiencing violence or inflicting it on others.
The report indicates that intimate relationships marked by violence can have lasting negative impact on people’s mental, physical, and sexual health. Those who experience these situations are at increased risk of psychological distress, engaging in risky behaviours, and repeating the cycle of violence in their future relationships.
For the 2022-23 academic year, 43 per cent of young people in Montreal who had been in at least one romantic relationship in the past year reported having experienced or inflicted physical, psychological, or sexual violence. That figure has remained stable throughout the surveys.
“This is a fairly worrying figure, and we want to see an improvement in this situation. It’s extremely important,” Lemieux said.
The report mentions that in order to reduce violence in intimate relationships in the long term, it is essential to act early. It suggests interventions aimed at strengthening young people’s social skills.
“Ensuring that they know how to resolve conflicts in their friendships, for example. It’s important to start sending these messages early in childhood and to make sure that there are adults around, that there is a support network trained to know how to respond to (situations) and how to connect people to resources for help if they witness … violence in childhood or adolescence,” Lemieux said.
She emphasized the importance of talking about healthy, balanced relationships from an early age.
“And making sure they recognize violence if they experience it, and that they can ask for help as easily as possible,” Lemieux said.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
