violence against women
All women have the right to live in safe communities, free from violence and the threat of violence to themselves or their children. Yet each year thousands women across the country are seriously injured by their intimate partners and many die. All kinds of women experience abuse – young, old, women with disabilities, women of all races, religions, social classes and status. Violence occurs in large urban centers as well as in rural areas and it affects us all. In fact, Statistics Canada reports that over 50% of women in Canada have been victims of either a sexual or physical assault, most of them under the age of 25 .
consider the following:
- Women are more likely than men to be the victims of the most severe form of intimate partner abuse, including spousal homicide, sexual assault and criminal harassment (stalking).
- Over the past 30 years, the percentage of persons charged with first degree murder in spousal homicide cases has risen, with women twice as likely as men to receive this charge.
- Woman abuse has psychological, physical, social and economic impacts on victims, their families and society.
- Female victims of intimate partner abuse are more likely than males to report being injured, suffer lost productivity, experience multiple assaults, fear for their lives, and experience negative emotional consequences.
- Almost 40% of women in Canada who reported assault by an intimate partner said their children witnessed the violence against them (either directly or indirectly) and in many cases the violence was severe. In half of the cases of intimate partner violence against women that were witnessed by children, the woman feared for her life.
- Studies of the economic costs of violence against women to victims and society estimate that costs to health, criminal justice, social services and lost productivity range in the billions of dollars.
- Young women (under the age of 25) experience the highest rates of violence.
- Women experience higher rates than men of sexual assault, stalking, serious intimate partner assaults and spousal homicide.
- Partners’ use of physiological or emotional abuse and frequent heavy drinking by partners raise the risk of violence against women in intimate partner relationships.
- Stalking by ex-partners raises the risk of ex-partner violence
- Rates of intimate partner abuse and spousal homicide are higher for Aboriginal women than for non-Aboriginal women or Aboriginal men.
- The severity and impacts of intimate partner abuse are also greater for Aboriginal women. Causes for these higher rates include the facts that: the Aboriginal population is younger than the general population; has lower average incomes; has higher levels of alcohol abuse and are more likely to live in common-law relationships. Other factors that have been linked to violence in Aboriginal communities include the breakdown of family life resulting from residential school experience, and the impact of colonization on traditional values and culture.
Violence against women is a key factor which prevents women from achieving economic independence. While lack of money is not the only reason women stay in an abusive setting, it is a significant concern for most women. Without access to safe and affordable housing, employment, and childcare many women are forced to stay with their abusers.
According to the 2006 Statistics Canada General Social Survey, 82% of women and children who stay in shelters are escaping violence. But shelters are only part of the solution. Of the 70,000 people waiting for housing in the city of Toronto, more than half are women and single mothers. Without access to affordable, safe and permanent housing, women are often forced to return to their abusers, putting them at 60% greater risk of lethal abuse.
We must work together as a community to ensure the safety of our mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. YWCA Toronto’s programs and services help women escape violence, promote personal growth and gain economic independence.
