Intimate partner violence

About

The World Health Organization identifies IPV as a major global public health concern, as it affects millions of people and can result in immediate and long-lasting health, social and economic consequences^{Footnote 1} . IPV impacts people of all genders, ages and socioeconomic, racial, educational, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. However, women experience this form of gender-based violence at much higher rates, most often perpetrated by men^{Footnote 2} . IPV can occur in both public and private spaces, as well as online. When children are exposed to IPV, it is considered a form of child maltreatment.

IPV can happen: 

• within a marriage, common-law or dating relationship
• regardless of the gender and sexual orientation of the partners
• at any time during a relationship and even after it has ended
• whether or not partners live together or are sexually intimate with one another

IPV can include:

• coercive control
• criminal harassment (also referred to as stalking)
• emotional/psychological abuse 
• financial abuse (also referred to as economic abuse)
• physical abuse
• reproductive coercion
• sexual violence
• spiritual abuse
• technology-facilitated violence (also referred to as cyberviolence

Impacts

The impacts of intimate partner violence can be extremely severe and long-lasting. Harms resulting from IPV may be:

It is common for people who have experienced IPV to suffer mental health consequences. A 2018 survey found that 12% of young women aged 15-24 who had experienced IPV, reported symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)^{Footnote 2} . Other research found that 36% of women in Canadian shelters for victims and survivors of abuse, noted mental health issues as one of the top challenges they faced^{Footnote 3} .

How to respond

If you experience or witness IPV, there are ways you can respond. 

For further information on how to safely respond to IPV, visit the resources section below.

Facts

Police-reported data shows that women are overrepresented among those who experience IPV, including among victims of intimate partner homicides. Despite its severe impacts, most cases of IPV are not reported.

• In 2019, 80% of people who had experienced IPV did not report it to the police (women reported 22% of the time, and men 14% of the time^{Footnote 4} ).
• Violence was more likely to come to the attention of the police in situations where there was a higher frequency of abuse, such as on a monthly basis or more (13%), compared with those who had experienced IPV once (2%) or a few times (5%)^{Footnote 5} .

Similarly to other forms of violence, those who experience IPV often don’t report it to the police for a variety of reasons. According to self-reported data, the most common reasons provided by victims/survivors for not reporting their experience of spousal violence to the police are:

• the belief that abuse is a private or personal matter, and
• the perception that the incident is not important enough to report^{Footnote 6} .

Other reasons may include:

• fear of stigma/shame^{Footnote 7} ,
• fear of court system intervention, or
• lack of trust in the criminal justice system^{Footnote 8} .

Indigenous women may face unique barriers to reporting experiences of violent victimization or seeking help following victimization, including:

• a lack of access to culturally appropriate resources
• inaccessibility of support services
• a general distrust of law enforcement, and
• perceived lack of confidentiality in the justice system^{Footnote 9} .

In 34% of cases, people who have experienced IPV don’t speak to anyone about the violence that they experienced, let alone report it^{Footnote 5} .

Statistics

Self-reported data

• 44% of women and girls who had ever been in an intimate partner relationship—or about 6.2 million women aged 15 and over —reported experiencing some kind of psychological, physical, or sexual abuse in the context of an intimate relationship in their lifetime (since the age of 15)^{Footnote 5} .
  • Women and girls were significantly more likely than men and boys to have experienced any form of IPV, including physical abuse (23% versus 17%, respectively), sexual abuse (12% versus 2%), and psychological abuse (43% versus 35%)^{Footnote 5} .
• Women, relative to men, were considerably more likely to have experienced the most severe forms of IPV in their lifetime (since the age of 15): being made to perform sex acts they did not want to perform (8% versus 1%, respectively), being confined or locked in a room or other space (3% versus 0.5%), being forced to have sex (10% versus 2%), being choked (7% versus 1%), and having harm or threats of harm directed towards their pets (4% versus 0.8%)^{Footnote 5a} .
• Among people who experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime (since the age of 15), women are about four times more likely than men (37% versus 9%, respectively) to have ever been afraid of a partner.
  • 55% of women who experienced physical or sexual IPV feared a partner at some point. Being afraid of a partner can indicate intimate partner violence that is more coercive, more severe, and more likely to reflect a pattern of abusive behaviours^{Footnote 5} .
• Women with a history of physical or sexual abuse before the age of 15 were about twice as likely as women with no such history to have experienced IPV either since age 15 (67% versus 35%) or in the past 12 months (18% versus 10%)^{Footnote 5} .
• Among people who experienced IPV in the 12 months preceding the survey, women were twice as likely as men to have experienced at least one form of IPV on a daily or almost daily basis (12% versus 6%, respectively)^{Footnote 5} .

Police-reported data

• In Canada in 2022, there were 117,093 victims of intimate partner violence aged 12 years and older^{Footnote 15} .
• 8 in 10 (78%) victims/survivors of police-reported IPV in 2022 were women and girls, with rates of IPV more than three times higher among women and girls than among men and boys^{Footnote 15} . 
• 2014 marked the lowest rates of IPV since comparable data became available. Since then, rates have increased.  From 2014 to 2022, police-reported intimate partner violence rates increased 19% for women and girls and 21% for men and boys^{Footnote 15} .
  • From 2014 to 2022, intimate partner sexual assault increased 163%, intimate partner physical assault increased 14% and indecent or harassing communications increased  38%^{Footnote 15} .

Gender-related homicide of women and girls 

• Between 2011 and 2021, police reported 1,125 gender-related homicides of women and girls in Canada. Of these homicides, two-thirds (66%) were perpetrated by an intimate partner, 28% a family member, 5% a friend or acquaintance and the remaining 1% a stranger^{Footnote 16} .
• While the rate of gender-related homicide of women and girls has generally declined since 2001, there was a 14% increase between 2020 and 2021 (from 0.48 to 0.54 victims per 100,000 women and girls), marking the highest rate recorded since 2017^{Footnote 16} .
• In 2021, the rate of gender-related homicide of Indigenous victims was more than triple that of gender-related homicides of women and girls overall (1.72 versus 0.54 per 100,000 women and girls)^{Footnote 16} .
• In 2021, the rate of gender-related homicide in Canada was more than 2.5 times greater in rural areas compared to urban areas (1.13 versus 0.44 per 100,000 women and girls)^{Footnote 16} .

Resources

• Get help now
• Report Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse
• Find services near you through the Victim Services Directory
• Find Provincial and territorial resources

Learn more

• Learn more about Gender-based violence
• Learn how to Stop Family Violence