Education
Did you know that in Canada…
1 in 5 women will experience some form of violence in their intimate relationship.
On average, every 6 days, a women will be killed by her intimate partner.
Women and girls accounted for two-thirds (67%) of all victims of family violence in 2019.
Almost four-fifths of all victims of intimate partner violence were women and girls (79% in 2019)
The rate of sexual offences was over 5.5 times higher among women and girls compared with men and boys (48 versus 9).
Types of Abuse
Physical Abuse refers to actions that cause physical discomfort, pain or injury. Physical abuse can involve slaps to full physical assaults involving kicking, pushing and punching causing serious harm. Physical abuse is considered assault under Canadian law. Physical abuse in violent relationships may also evolve to the point where the mere threat of physical violence can be effectively used in order to intimidate the victim to comply with the wishes of the abuser.
Financial and Material Abuse refers to the controlling of funds and/or property through force, fraud, manipulation, trickery, and/or theft. Financial abuse occurs when a single person controls all the financial resources (money, property, credit) within a relationship and uses this power as a means to exert control over their partner. People experiencing financial abuse might not be ‘allowed’ by their partners to seek employment, open their own bank accounts, own property or contribute in the making of financial decisions.
Psychological and Emotional Abuse The terms psychological abuse and emotional abuse are often used interchangeably. They both refer to the deliberate, calculated infliction of mental or emotional anguish by threat, humiliation, blaming, and/or intimidation. Psychological abuse erodes the self esteem of the victim, often leading them to doubt their abilities and self worth. Verbal abuse, such as name calling and putting down, is considered to be a form of psychological abuse.
Sexual Abuse refers to an unwanted behaviours and/or contact through the use of force, coercion or exploitation. This can include non-consensual intercourse, exposure to sexually explicit materials, inappropriate touching, sexual name calling and language. Victims of sexual abuse are often under constant pressure to act, sexually, as their partner wishes and are made to feel guilty when not complying.
Cultural and/or Spiritual Abuse can be a particularly complicated form of abuse within multicultural communities and those with religious beliefs. In one form, the person using abusive behaviours attempts to separate their partner from religious and cultural supports by attacking or ridiculing his/her belief system and/or culture. Victims are often forced to stop practicing or participating in spiritual practices. In another form, spirituality or religion can also be used as a means of controlling and forcing victims to accept spiritual beliefs or engage in spiritual practices that are not their own. Religious texts and cultural customs are often distorted by the abuser for their own benefit to justify their position of power.
Neglect refers to a lack of action to provide the basic necessities of life and care for the dependent victim he or she is responsible for. Basic needs include adequate and appropriate food, shelter, clothing, hygiene, and even love and care. Neglect happens to dependent persons. For this reason, it most typically involves children or dependent elders who are not taken care of properly by their families or caregivers.
[Community Initiatives Against Family Violence, https://ciafv.com/ ]
What is Family Violence?
Family Violence describes a systemic pattern of abusive behaviours within a relationship that is characterized by intimacy, dependency and/or trust. The abusive behaviours exist within a context where their purpose is to gain power, control and induce fear. All forms of abusive behaviour are ways in which one human being is trying to have control and/or exploit or have power over another.
[Community Initiatives Against Family Violence, adopted October 9, 2001]
All members of Canadian Society are affected by family violence. There are long term impacts of violence on victims’ physical and emotional health that can result in their inability to work, the loss of wages, their lack of participation in regular activities and their limited ability to care for themselves and their children.
Children may suffer long-term emotional, behavioural, and developmental problems that can even lead them to be violent later in life. The consequences of family violence stretch far beyond the victim’s family, friends, and communities.
There are also tremendous social costs. A considerable amount of Canadian resources are directed to address this issue including costs to health care, the justice system, to employers and businesses, and to social and community series.
A recent study by the Department of Justice Canada, and Estimation of the Economic Impact of Spousal Violence in Canada, (2009) estimates the economic impact of spousal violence to be about $7.4 billion a year, amounting to $225 per Canadian.
[About Family Violence. (2015, Jan.7). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from Government of Canada Department of Justice: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/fv-vf/about-apropos.html ]
What is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness that involves exposure to trauma involving death, threat of death, serious injury, or sexual violence. PTSD can cause intrusive symptoms such as re-experiencing the traumatic event, vivid nightmares, flashbacks, or thoughts of the event that seem to come from nowhere.
People with PTSD will often avoid things that remind them of the event and feel very nervous or on edge all the time. They may feel startled very easily, have a hard time concentrating, feel irritable, or have problems sleeping well; often feeling like something terrible is about to happen, even if they are safe.
Some people with PTSD feel numb and detached; feeling disconnected from the body and thought, and may have a hard time experiencing emotions.
[Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). (2015). Retrieved April 10, 2015, from Canadian Mental Health Association: https://cmha.ca/brochure/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/]
