Child maltreatment cases in Ontario and British Columbia during the pandemic: A comparative study.

Publication date: May 15, 2026

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced unprecedented challenges for children and families that may have inadvertently impacted violence-related injury rates. To investigate the influence of the pandemic on violence against children and youth by comparing the context of injuries presenting to hospital. Children under 18 years of age presenting to emergency departments (EDs) participating in the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) in Ontario (ON) and British Columbia (BC) between January 2018 and March 2022. Descriptive statistics were used to compare case distributions before and during the pandemic. Narrative text fields were coded for maltreatment type, child and perpetrator details, setting, substance use, and authority involvement. Statistical significance of differences between time periods and between ON and BC were assessed using chi-square and proportional t-tests. Overall, ED cases significantly decreased during the pandemic in ON, while BC saw no significant changes. Ontario reported a notable decrease in physical assaults and a rise in sexual assaults. Both provinces showed shifts in child maltreatment risk from public spaces to homes. In ON, physical assaults by immediate family members and sexual assaults by non-family acquaintances increased. The small BC dataset limited definitive conclusions. There may have been a shift in the risk profile during the pandemic that altered children’s interaction circles, changing the types of maltreatment, perpetrators, and settings for abuse. Despite some key limitations including an overall small number of cases, there is still a need for increased awareness and targeted interventions to prevent future cases.

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Original Article