Violence against women
Violence against women is a powerful social force. A full picture of the lives of women in Canada and around the world cannot be formed without including the many issues surrounding violence against women. There are many kinds of violence against women, including sexual, spiritual, cultural, physical, verbal, financial, psychological and emotional abuse. And there are many ways that violence against women can be perpetrated. Violence can come from an intimate partner, a family member or an authority figure (e.g. teachers, police officers, doctors or employers). Violence can also come from strangers but it is far less common. The World Health Organization notes that “one of the most common forms of violence against women is that performed by a husband or male partner.”
There are many terms that are used to refer to violence against women: woman abuse, abuse, domestic violence, partner violence, impacts of abuse, trauma, etc.
A Public health issue
Beyond being a human rights problem, violence against women is a major public health issue. There are of course the physical injuries associated with abuse. Domestic violence is the most common cause of nonfatal injury to women in North America. But beyond these injuries there are a surprising number of physical and mental disorders that are the result of abuse. For example, in the vast majority of cases of mental illness and substance use among women, research indicates that violence precede these conditions; thus, 50% of women in psychiatric settings have been sexually abused as children.
The health effects that can result from violent acts or from the long-term effects of violence are significant. Some examples of the health impacts of woman abuse include:
- sleep deprivation
- eating disorders
- gastrointestinal illness
- chronic headaches or back pain
- hypertension
- unintended pregnancies
- forced pregnancies and abortions
- miscarriage
- sexually transmitted diseases
- cervical cancer rates
- post-traumatic stress disorder
- mental illness
- depression
- substance use
- abdominal pain
The invisibility of violence is a challenge
Unfortunately, legal systems and social norms often don’t treat violence against women with the seriousness that it deserves, but rather as a “private” or “family” matter or even a “normal” part of life. And because violence against women is so often perpetrated by a husband, a boyfriend, an intimate partner or a family member, violence can occur for years behind closed doors and tightly held secrets, without being properly recognized or acknowledged by the community. Other contributing factors to the relative “invisibility” of violence include:
- Victims of violence sometimes feel responsible
- Victims and their families often report feeling shame
- Women in abusive relationships are at a high risk of elevated violence when seeking help from their community
- Violence is often complicated by highly complex social issues that make it hard to know how to intervene safely
- People sometimes avoid dealing with conflict
Communities that Elizabeth Fry serves
In our communities, we’re working to change this.