more montreal high-schoolers are reporting violence in their relationships
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santé montreal published a report in february 2026 showing the rate at which young people experience intimate-partner violence. it posted a brief summary of its results on facebook.
santÉ montrÉal
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the proportion of adolescents — particularly girls — experiencing violence in their intimate relationships has increased, according to results of a just-published report by montreal’s public health department.
based on data drawn from the most recent instalment of the quebec survey on the health of secondary school students, a province-wide survey involving more than 70,000 students, 38 per cent of young montrealers reported having experienced at least one act of physical, psychological or sexual violence by a partner in an intimate relationship in the previous 12 months. that’s up from 31 per cent in the survey’s first instalment, in 2010-2011. the report compared figures from the survey’s third instalment, in 2022-2023, with the first and the second, conducted in 2016-2017.
santé montréal made the report public this week and, ahead of valentine’s day, posted a brief summary of its results thursday on facebook.
the upward trend in violence experienced in intimate relationships among adolescents is “concerning, given its repercussions on the overall health and well-being of young people,” says a summary of the 28-page report, written by salomé lemieux, a planning, programming and research officer with the public health department.
“intimate relationships during adolescence contribute positively to development, identity formation and the acquisition of social skills,” the summary states. “this period also represents a key window for prevention, since first romantic and sexual experiences can have a lasting influence on relationship trajectories.”
intimate relationships marked by violence can have lasting adverse effects on their mental, physical and sexual health of young people, lemieux writes.
the survey involved a questionnaire filled out on tablets in class by more than 5,800 students in secondary 1 through 5 in 92 montreal high schools — english and french, public and private. only students 14 and older were eligible to participate in the section of the wide-ranging survey that addressed intimate relationships; they had the right not to respond to its questions, although more than 90 per cent chose to respond to most.
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twenty-one per cent of the students reported having had at least one consensual sexual relationship, with the figure increasing from 10 per cent in secondary 1 and 2 to 33 per cent in secondary 5.
the survey showed that girls report violence by an intimate partner more frequently than boys do. this observation matches that in the literature, which suggests that gender influences relational dynamics, lemieux writes. “girls are generally more exposed to controlling behaviours and sexual pressures than boys are.”
the pandemic ended not long before the survey’s third instalment; the social isolation experienced during the pandemic limited access to safe spaces like school, and technology may have amplified such methods of control as digital surveillance, the report said.
eight per cent of the montreal respondents reported having had forced sexual relations at least once, the report states, up from five per cent in the earlier instalments. the report says campaigns about consent and the #metoo movement have made it easier for people to report sexual violence; the rise could reflect an increase in reporting of cases rather than an increase in the actual number of cases, the report suggests.
the proportion of girls who reported having had forced sexual relations was greater than that of boys, but male victims might underreport because they are ashamed to speak out or ask for help, owing to “rigid beliefs about masculinity, which value strength and invulnerability,” the report states.
forty-three per cent of montreal students who had at least one romantic relationship in the previous year reported having experienced or inflicted violence in that relationship. this figure remained relatively stable through the survey’s three cycles.
seventeen per cent of respondents said they had inflicted at least one form of violence on a partner and experienced violence on the part of the partner. girls reported this more frequently than boys, and the report said the violence they inflicted was often a response to violence they had experienced.
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certain groups are particularly vulnerable to this form of violence, the report said. leaving school, for instance, is considered a risk factor for violence in adolescent romantic relationships. so is having problems with alcohol or drug use, fragile mental health and a high level of psychological distress.
“violence in intimate relationships during adolescence is a major public health concern, because of its many consequences. young people in these situations are at increased risk of psychological distress, of risk-taking behaviours and of reproducing the violence in their future relationships,” lemieux writes.
“and beyond the impact on young people, this problem also leads to significant social and economic repercussions, notably due to the increase in costs associated with health services, social protection services and the judicial system.”
various factors, though, can protect against violence in intimate relationships, the report says. it is less frequent, for instance, among young people who have solid self-esteem, good mental health, strong social and personal skills, supportive parental relationships and adequate supervision from them as well as support from family, peers, school and community.
safe living environments can help young people to reinforce their self-esteem and ask for help when they need it, the report states. this means equipping the adults around them — parents, school teams, community workers and health professionals — to promote healthy relationships and prevent violence.
facilitating access to clinical services adapted to the reality of young people who need them is also important, the report said, and to take into account their realities, it’s important that young people participate in developing and evaluating those services and practices.
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for help or support, visit etincelles.uqam.ca or teljeunes.com. anyone facing intimate-partner violence can contact sos violence conjugale 24 hours a day at 1-800-363-9010.
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