Family Violence Initiative

This fact sheet was published in 2003 and is currently being updated.

Dating Violence: A fact sheet from the Department of Justice Canada

• WHAT IS DATING VIOLENCE?
• HOW WIDESPREAD IS DATING VIOLENCE IN CANADA?
• WHAT ARE SOME POTENTIAL WARNING SIGNS OF ABUSE?
• WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF DATING VIOLENCE?
• PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO DATING VIOLENCE
• SUGGESTED RESOURCES ON DATING VIOLENCE
• WHERE TO GET MORE INFORMATION ON DATING VIOLENCE

WHAT IS DATING VIOLENCE?

Dating violence refers to abuse or mistreatment that occurs between “dating partners”, individuals who are having – or may be moving towards – an intimate relationship.1 Although dating violence may be experienced at any stage of life, much of the research on dating violence has focused on young people including adolescents and university and college students.

Among young people, age and developmental stage play a role in what is defined as “dating violence”. For example, the context of dating, and dating behaviours, may vary widely by age and gender2 – and dating patterns may be very different among young men and young women, or among young people who are 12 or 13 years of age, compared to those who are 16 or 17 years old, or among young adults 18-24 years of age.

Dating violence may occur in either heterosexual or same-sex relationships. It may take place at any point in the dating process – when two people first meet or become interested in one another, on their first date, during their courtship, once they have been involved with each other for some time, or after their relationship has ended.

Dating violence may be a single act of violence – such as sexual assault or “date rape” – or it may be a pattern of abusive behaviour and mistreatment that is repeated – and often escalates – over time. Abusers may use a number of different tactics to try to exert power and control over their victims. Physical, sexual or psychological abuse may be perpetrated by an abuser acting alone or with a group of people against a victim.

Some violent or abusive acts violate civic or basic human rights. Some are criminal acts (see Preventing and Responding to Dating Violence below).

This fact sheet provides information about dating violence from a justice perspective.

Types of abuse3

Research has mostly focused on spousal abuse, but in recent years more has been learned about physical, sexual and psychological violence in dating relationships. The following descriptions of physical, sexual and psychological abuse provide examples of some of the abusive acts that may occur in a dating relationship.

Physical abuse

includes any use of force – whether or not it involves the use of a weapon or results in physical injury. It may include, for example:

• Restraining
• Shaking
• Pushing or shoving
• Throwing something hard
• Kicking
• Hitting or slapping
• Hair pulling
• Biting
• Choking
• Burning or scalding
• Beating.

Sexual abuse

includes all forms of sexual harassment, sexual coercion or sexual assault.

Sexual harassment includes unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour, actions or words. Sexual harassment may include, for example:

• making lewd comments or gestures to cause embarrassment, or
• any other behaviours, actions or words that are:
  • sexual in nature
  • likely to offend or humiliate
  • relate to a person‘s sex, sexuality or body parts, or
  • are repeated even after the person has been told to stop.

Sexual coercion includes manipulating a person or situation unfairly in order to get sex. It may include, for example:

• Pressuring someone to engage in sexual acts by taunting, belittling, making fun of or harassing them
• Lying to someone, or threatening to tell lies about someone (e.g. to damage their reputation) in order to get sex
• Exploiting or taking sexual advantage of someone, including victims who are younger or intoxicated (this includes using the Internet or date rape drugs4 to prey on someone for sex).

Sexual assault includes any form of sexual activity without a person‘s consent. This may include:

• Any kissing, fondling, touching, oral sex or sexual intercourse without consent
• Not stopping sexual contact when asked to
• Forcing someone to engage in sexual intercourse or any other sexual act.

Psychological abuse

includes using words or actions to control, isolate or intimidate someone or damage their sense of self worth or integrity. This type of abuse may include, for example:

• Being cruel, deceitful or manipulative
• Ridiculing or insulting someone or calling them names
• Constantly criticizing someone
• Being excessively jealous and possessive and not allowing someone to have friends, or talk to or be with others
• Threatening to hurt someone, their loved ones or their property if they do not obey
• Stalking or harassing someone after a relationship has ended by making obsessive phone calls, watching and making threats
• Swearing, name calling, breaking things, vandalizing their property, or spreading gossip or rumours about the person.

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HOW WIDESPREAD IS DATING VIOLENCE IN CANADA?

Although it is not possible to present the full extent of this problem, the available data indicates that violence in dating relationships is common.5 Much attention has been paid to the fact that some studies have shown that both men and women perpetrate violence in dating relationships. Although the rates of physical violence in dating relationships have often been found to be similar between men and women, this may be the result of methodological limitations in which the acts of violence have been measured, but not the consequence, context, motivation and meaning of violence.6 Many authors have noted that the social context of dating violence is different for women, the consequences of being abused tend to be more severe for women, and women have different motivations for using violence (often it is used in self-defense8

Recent research demonstrates that many adolescent dating relationships may be characterized by physical, sexual and psychological abuse.9 However, definitions of abuse differ, and few studies have focused on all dimensions of physical, sexual and psychological abuse within one study. Even fewer have included adolescents as young as 12 or 13 years of age, which is the period when dating and consequently dating violence may begin.10 Some authors have noted that playground bullying may escalate into more blatant forms of sexual harassment, and bullying behaviour that is not addressed may escalate into various types of violence including dating violence.11

The experience of dating violence among elementary students

• The 1993 Canadian National Survey (CNS) involved a sample of 3,142 university and college students in Canada (including 1,835 women and 1,307 men). Participants were asked about their previous experiences of abuse in their elementary (Grades 1 to 8) dating relationships. Men were asked to report their abusive behaviour, while women were asked about being victimized. Of the men who answered the question: 2% had threatened to physically force their partners to engage in sexual activities; 2% reported having physically forced women to engage in sexual activities; 19% indicated they had been emotionally abusive, and 4% had been physically abusive. Women reported the following rates of victimization: 3% reported that their partners had threatened to physically force them to engage in sexual activities; 4% indicated that they had been physically forced to engage in sexual activities; 24% reported that their partners had hurt them emotionally; and 7.2% said they had been physically hurt.

The experience of dating violence among high school students

• The 1993 CNS also asked university and college students about their previous experiences of abuse in their high school dating relationships. Men were asked to report their abusive behaviour, while women were asked about being victimized. Among the men respondents, 1% had threatened to use physical force to make their partners engage in sexual activities; 2% indicated that they had used physical force to make women engage in sexual activities; 33% reported that they had emotionally hurt their dating partners; and 1% said they had physically hurt their partners. Women reported the following rates of victimization: 8% said that their partners had threatened to use physical force to make them engage in sexual activities; 14% indicated their dating partner had physically forced them to engage in sex acts; 50% reported that they had been hurt emotionally; and 9% said that their dating partners had physically hurt them.12
  
  

The experience of dating violence among adolescents

• A 2000 Ottawa study of 90 young men 13-17 years of age found that about two-thirds (67%) of the young men reported having abused their girlfriends: about one-third (34%) were emotionally, physically and sexually abusive; almost one-quarter (22%) were emotionally and physically abusive; and one-tenth (10%) were emotionally and sexually abusive. In in-depth interviews with a sub-sample of 30 marginal, abusive young men, all of the young men reported that they had engaged in many collective as well as individual acts of girlfriend abuse.16
• A 1995 study of Quebec adolescents aged 15 to 19 years old found that 54% of the young women and 13% of the young men had experienced sexual coercion in a dating relationship.17

The experience dating violence among college and university students

Among college students, physical and sexual coercion ranges from 20-30%, and the estimates are even higher when verbal threats and emotional abuse are considered.18

According to the 1998 Canadian Campus Survey (CCS), which included a sample of 7,800 university undergraduate students, many students reported having experienced violence (and those experiences are likely to have included dating violence):

• 13% of students surveyed had experienced a sexual assault during their lifetime; 4% had experienced one in the past 12 months.19

• 1 in 5 students surveyed had experienced physical assault in their lifetime; 5% had experienced it in the past year.20

According to the 1993 CNS, dating violence among Canadian university and community college undergraduate students is common:

• Almost 35% of women surveyed indicated they had experienced at least one physical assault by a male dating partner.21

• 28% of the women reported that they had been sexually abused in the 12 months prior to the study, while 11% of the men reported that they had sexually victimized a woman dating partner in the same time period.22

• 45% of the women said they had been sexually abused since leaving high school, and 20% of men reported that they had experienced at least one incident of abuse in the same time period.23

The Experience of Dating violence among the adult population

The 1993 Violence Against Women Survey (VAWS) found that many adult women experience violence in dating relationships. The VAWS found that:

• An estimated 1.7 million Canadian women (about 16% of all women) had experienced at least one incident of sexual or physical assault in a dating relationship since the age of 16.24

• Among younger single women (18-24 years of age), 24% had been assaulted by dates (15% had been sexually assaulted and 14% had been physically assaulted).25

• An estimated 25% of all women who were attending school at the time of the survey had experienced either sexual assault (17%) or physical assault (12%) at the hands of a boyfriend or male date.26
  

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WHAT FACTORS PLAY A ROLE IN DATING VIOLENCE?

Research suggests that many different factors may play a role in dating violence. Some of the many factors that play a role include: an individual‘s past experience(s) of abuse, an individual‘s belief system and attitudes, an individual‘s knowledge about and skills to deal with relationships, drinking and drug use, the seriousness of the dating relationship itself, peer influences, and pornography.

Past experiences of abuse

Having been abused as a child (including sibling abuse) is a substantial significant risk factor for dating violence.27

Belief systems and attitudes

An individual‘s beliefs and attitudes play an important role in how they behave and how they judge others‘ behaviour. For example, some individuals may believe that it is acceptable to force a person to have sex if that person:

• Hitchhikes
• Is considered a “tease” or “loose”
• Engages in petting
• Gets drunk
• Goes to the aggressor‘s home
• “Leads someone on”
• Does not wear a bra or dresses in a way that is considered sexy or provocative
• “Turns someone on”
• Asks a man out, or
• Has money spent on them.28

The CNS found that men who have patriarchal beliefs and attitudes (i.e. they believe a man has the right to decide whether or not his wife/partner should go out in the evening with her friends; a man has the right to decide whether or not his wife/partner should work outside the home; a man should sometimes show his wife/partner that he is the head of the house; and a man has the right to have sex with his wife/partner when he wants, even though she may not want to) are more likely to be sexually, physically and psychologically abusive toward their dating partners.29

Lack of knowledge about and skills for dealing with dating

Dating violence prevention strategies tend to be based on the assumption that a lack of knowledge and skills about communication, problem-solving, emotional management, and healthy relationships may also be important factors in dating violence. For adolescents, dating is a time of experimentation, and how they handle these new roles and expectations may reflect the (appropriate and inappropriate) role models they have had and lessons they have learned about how to resolve conflict.30

Substance use by dating partners

The Canadian National Survey of woman abuse in colleges and universities confirms that dating violence often co-occurs with drinking. The more men and women drink, and the more often they drink in the company of their dating partners, the more likely they are to either inflict abuse or be victimized by dating violence. Men who drink often and do so frequently with their dating partners are among those more likely to abuse their dating partners. Women who drink often, and frequently in the company of their dating partners, are at higher risk of being abused.31 Among early adolescents, a strong association between reporting dating aggression and reporting substance use has been found.32

The seriousness of the dating relationship

The CNS found that the more serious the dating relationship, the greater the likelihood that a man will physically and sexually abuse his dating partner. Although more research is needed, this may happen because men in intimate relationships may be more emotionally dependent on their partners than men involved in more casual relationships. A man may abuse his partner as an attempt to establish or maintain her commitment or dependence on him.33

Influence of peers

For young men, the influence of peers is linked to dating aggression. Fraternities, for example, have been found to be a learning environment that fostered the use of non-physical sexually coercive behaviour.34 Other forms of male peer support have also been linked to dating violence. The CNS found that, if men have peers who guide and advise them to sexually, physically and psychologically abuse their dating partners it is an important influence on their behaviour. Also, men who have friends who physically, sexually or emotionally abuse their dating partners are more likely to behave in the same way.35

Pornography

The pornography industry – as well as other media - tend to normalize and promote violence and violent attitudes and may create misperceptions about relationships and sexual behaviour. For example, the CNS found some evidence that pornography plays a major role in the sexual and physical abuse of women in college and university dating relationships.36

Young people, in particular, may develop inappropriate expectations or understandings of relationships and sexuality based on these external influences. They may have difficulty distinguishing certain signs of abuse, such as excessive jealousy, from “love”37 (see Warning Signs below).

Other factors that increase vulnerability to abuse

Vulnerability to dating violence may also be increased by many other factors that affect and marginalize individuals and communities including discrimination, ageism, racism, homophobia, disability, and lack of access to information, supports and services, including the criminal justice system. Many of the factors that increase vulnerability to dating violence may also compound the effects of the violence, and decrease the likelihood of reporting it.38

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WHAT ARE SOME POTENTIAL WARNING SIGNS OF ABUSE?39

Some of the signs that a person is being abusive in a relationship include:

• Low self esteem or poor self-image
• Low tolerance for frustration
• Mood swings
• Short tempered or anger prone (tending to express fear or anxiety as anger, or refusing to discuss feelings and then blowing up in explosive anger)
• Extreme jealousy
• Over-possessiveness.

A person who is being abusive may:

• Get too serious too quickly
• Feel they need to make all the decisions
• Manipulate and control the other person‘s contact with friends, family, outside activities, or isolate them from friends and family
• Put down the other person‘s ideas, friends, family, appearance
• Impose stereotypical views of male and female relationships (men in control, women submissive, etc.)
• Threaten
• Blame
• Use guilt (If you love me…)
• Make accusations of dishonesty
• Make obsessive phone calls and constantly check up on the other person
• Follow and watch the other person (stalking)
• Demand to know the other person‘s whereabouts at all times
• Refuse to take “no” for an answer (and that may include refusing to accept breaking up).

Other signs that a person may become abusive include:

• Bragging about bullying or harming others
• Driving too fast or engaging in other dangerous behaviour
• Using alcohol and/or drugs (and then becoming angry or violent)
• Being cruel to animals.

Some of the signs that a person is being abused include:

• Low self-esteem
• Withdrawal
• Depression
• Nervousness
• Unexplained cuts, bruises, scrapes, burns or bite marks.

A person who is being abused may:

• Stop participating in things they enjoy
• Have little or no interest in family activities
• Have difficulty sleeping
• Not be able to concentrate
• Experience memory problems
• Start missing school more, or
• Experience a drop in their grades.

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WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF DATING VIOLENCE?

Dating violence may have immediate, as well as longer term consequences for victims, perpetrators and their families and communities.

Dating violence may harm victims physically, sexually or psychologically, and the consequences may affect the rest of their lives. Dating violence may damage an individual‘s self-esteem, confidence and sense of safety, and affect their development and functioning. It may also result in physical injury, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, or death. Those who experience dating violence are at higher risk for experiencing further violence in future relationships.

Research indicates that dating violence affects young women and young men differently. For example, among young women, being victimized physically or sexually in a dating relationship is associated with increased risk of substance use, unhealthy weight control behaviours, sexual risk behaviours, pregnancy, and suicidal behaviour.40 A review of the research indicates that women who are physically abused by their dating partners tend to suffer more physical and emotional harm compared to abused men. They are also likely to be victimized more frequently and to experience more severe consequences from this type of violence, including injuries, emotional trauma, fear and anxiety.41 Research has shown that adolescent women are more likely to be punched or forced into sexual activity, and they are most likely to respond by crying, fighting back, running away or obeying their abusive partner. Adolescent men, however, are more likely to be pinched, slapped, scratched or kicked, and they are more likely to be dismissive and to laugh the abuse off.42

Although there is little research in this area, perpetrators are also likely to experience negative consequences from their behaviour. They risk destroying their current relationships, being shamed, personally rejected and socially condemned. They also risk jeopardizing future relationships. In some cases, they risk criminal sanctions, such as incarceration and a criminal record.

Families also experience the consequences of dating violence when family members are harmed. Many of the negative consequences that victims may experience – including mental health problems, or the use of negative coping strategies such as substance use – may have direct impacts on families. Similarly, communities are affected when violence is normalized, and individuals who have been victimized no longer have the capacity to participate fully or make a positive contribution to community life.

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PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO DATING VIOLENCE

Given the seriousness of dating violence - as well as the complexity of this issue - an effective response requires the ongoing commitment and collaboration of community members, practitioners and policy makers across Canada.

Young people who engage in or are victimized by dating violence may be at increased risk for continuing to inflict or be victimized by violence as adults, in their intimate relationships, marriages and family lives. Addressing dating violence with young people may prevent future spousal abuse and other forms of family violence. To date, much of the response to dating violence in Canada has focused primarily on preventing dating violence through school-based education and awareness programs and campus-based campaigns and initiatives. These and other prevention strategies that recognize the role of gender in the experiences and consequences of dating violence, and that provide skills training to help young people avoid risky situations, are important. The availability of services and supports for victims is essential.

The Role of the Department of Justice Canada

The Department of Justice Canada, and its partners - including non-governmental organizations, provincial and territorial governments and the private sector - actively address dating violence through strategies that include ongoing legal reform, support for public legal education programs and services and support for the development of school- or community-based prevention strategies aimed at young people. Much of this work is linked to the federal government‘s current Family Violence Initiative and the National Crime Prevention Strategy.

Criminal Code Provisions

In Canada, certain categories of abuse, such as assault, sexual assault and criminal harassment are crimes under the Criminal Code of Canada. Some types of abuse are also addressed under provincial legislation. The Youth Criminal Justice Act is relevant to young persons between the ages of 12 and 17.

Some of the Criminal Code provisions that may apply in cases of physical abuse include:

• failure to provide necessaries of life – s.215
• criminal negligence causing bodily harm or death – ss. 220 & 221
• manslaughter – ss.234 & 236
• murder – ss.229-231 & 235
• counselling suicide – s.241
• assault – ss.265-266
• assault causing bodily harm or with a weapon – s. 267
• aggravated assault – s.269
• sexual assault – s.271
• sexual assault with a weapon – s.272
• aggravated sexual assault – s. 27343
• forcible confinement – s.279 (2)
• robbery – s.343

Some of the Criminal Code provisions that may apply in cases of psychological abuse include:

• criminal harassment – s.264
• uttering threats – s.264.1(1)
• harassing telephone calls – s.372 (3)
• intimidation – s.423.

The Criminal Code also includes a provision (s. 718.2) that requires the court to take into account for the purpose of sentencing (as an aggravating factor) evidence that the offence was motivated by age- or sex-based bias, prejudice or hate.

The Department of Justice Canada is involved in an ongoing process of legal reform to strengthen the criminal justice system‘s response to violence and sexual assault. Examples of recent legislative reforms and provisions that may apply include

• Bill C-7 is the Youth Criminal Justice Act replaced the Young Offenders Act on April 1, 2003. Under the new Act, young people (12-17 years old) are held accountable for their actions through interventions that are fair and in proportion to the seriousness of the offence committed. The new Act recognizes the interests and needs of victims, and the importance of rehabilitation and reintegration of young offenders.

• Bill C-15A (previously Bill C-36) (proclaimed into force on July 23, 2002) amended the Criminal Code to increase the maximum penalty for criminal harassment from 5 to 10 years.

• Bill C-79 (proclaimed into force on December 1, 1999) amended the Criminal Code to facilitate the participation of victims and witnesses in the criminal justice process. Measures were put in place to prevent victims from being re-victimized by the system. For example, bail decisions must take the safety of victims into account, and publication bans are now permitted to protect the identity of any victim or witness.

• Bill C-46 (proclaimed into force on May 12, 1997) amended the Criminal Code to ensure that only relevant documents from the complainants‘ and witnesses‘ personal and confidential records are made available to the accused in sexual offence proceedings.

• Bill C-27 (proclaimed into force on May 26, 1997) amended the Criminal Code to strengthen the criminal harassment (stalking) provisions. This included making murder, committed while stalking a victim, a first-degree murder, where the murderer intended to instill fear for the victim‘s safety. The Bill also requires the courts to take the breach of a protective court order into account as an aggravating factor in sentencing an offender for criminal harassment.

• Bill C-41 (proclaimed into force on June 15, 1995) amended the Criminal Code to provide that evidence that an offence was motivated by age- or sex-based bias, prejudice or hate shall be an aggravating factor in sentencing. Likewise, evidence that an offender, in committing an offence, abused the offenders spouse, common-law partner or child, or abused a position of trust or authority in relation to the victim, shall also be aggravating factors in sentencing.

• Bill C-72 (proclaimed into force on June 22, 1995) amended the Criminal Code to clarify that self-induced intoxication is not a defense to general intent crimes of violence such as assault and sexual assault.

• Bill C-42 (Omnibus) (proclaimed into force on February 1, 1995) amended the Criminal Code to make it easier to obtain peace bonds (protective orders). Police and others can now apply for a peace bond on behalf of a person at risk of harm. The maximum penalty for violation of a peace bond was increased from 6 months to two years.

• Bill C-126 (proclaimed into force on August 1, 1993) created the new anti-stalking offence of criminal harassment.

• Bill 49 (which received Royal Assent in June, 1992) defined consent for the purpose of sexual activity. Section 273.1 of the Criminal Code now specifies the situations in which consent has been obtained. The onus is now on the accused to ensure that a woman was, in fact, consenting.

Support for public legal education, school- and community-based prevention and other programs and services

The Department of Justice Canada has supported a number of education and prevention initiatives including, for example:

• The Online Healthy Relationships Project, a pilot project in Nova Scotia, added an interactive component – customized online discussion groups and email – to supplement the classroom delivery of a well-known violence-prevention curriculum (Healthy Relationships: A Violence Prevention Curriculum developed by Men for Change of Halifax in 1994). The Nova Scotia pilot project extended the reach of this curriculum by linking students and teachers with police officers.

• Making Waves is a multi-faceted peer-based healthy relationships project, which is operating in schools across New Brunswick. Resources such as a planning guide, student manual and newsletters are available on the project‘s web site.

• Deterring Dating Violence is a presentation and activity guide for high school students and teachers. The guide was published in the Spring 2002 issue of Le petit Magazine, as joint publication of Le Magazine jeunesse and the Department of Justice Canada.

• The Law Courts Education Society of BC has developed an interactive web site, which teaches senior high school students and other users about dating violence (and family violence) and assists them in finding help and information.

The Department of Justice Canada also supports Aboriginal communities in developing culturally appropriate approaches to addressing violence and abuse in their communities.

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SUGGESTED RESOURCES ON DATING VIOLENCE

• Alliance of Five Research Centres on Violence. In the Best Interests of the Girl Child: Phase II Report. Edited by Helene Berman and Jasmin Yiwani. Research funded by Status of Women Canada, 2002.

• Alliance of Five Research Centres on Violence. Violence Prevention and the Girl Child: Final Report. Research funded by Status of Women Canada, 1999.

• Canada. Department of Justice Canada. “Deterring Dating Violence: Presentation and Activity Guide Intended for Secondary III, IV and V Personal and Social Education Teachers,” Le petit Magazine, Spring, 2002.

• Canada. Health Canada. Dating Violence: An Issue at Any Age. Ottawa: Health Canada, March 1996

• Canada. Health Canada. National Clearinghouse Fact Sheets on Family Violence (series). Ottawa: Health Canada. Available on Internet.

• Canada. National Crime Prevention Centre. Personal Security Issues Concerning Women and Girls. Ottawa: National Crime Prevention Centre, n.d.

• DeKeseredy, Walter S. and Martin D. Schwartz. Woman Abuse on Campus: Results from the Canadian National Survey. London, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1998.

• Jackson, Susan, M. “Issues In The Dating Violence Research: A Review of The Literature,” Aggression and Violent Behavior, 4, 2 (1999): 233-247.

• Johnson, Holly. Dangerous Domains: Violence Against Women in Canada. Toronto: Nelson Canada, 1996.

• Kelly, Katharine and Walter S. DeKeseredy. “The Incidence and Prevalence of Woman Abuse in Canadian University and College Dating Relationships,” Journal of Human Justice, 4, 2 (1993): 25-52.

• Lavoie, Francine, Robitaille, Line, Hebert, Martine. “Teen Dating Relationships and Aggression, An Exploratory Study,” Violence Against Women, 6 , 1, January (2000): 6-36.

• Peplar, Debra J., Craig, Wendy M., Connolly, Jennifer, Henderson, Kathryn, “Bullying, Sexual Harassment, Dating Violence, and Substance Use Among Adolescents” in Christine Wekerle and Anne-Marie Wall (Eds.) The Violence and Addiction Equation: Theoretical and Clinical Issues in Substance Abuse and Relationship Violence (New York: Brunner-Routledge, 2002): 153-168.

• Price, E. Lisa, Byers, Sandra E., Sears, Heather A., Whelan, John, Saint Pierre, Marcelle. Dating Violence Amongst New Brunswick Adolescents: A Summary of Two Studies. Research Paper Series No. 2. Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, January 2000.

• Silverman, Jay, G, Raj, Anita, Mucci, Lorelei, Hathaway, Jeanne, E. “Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy, and Suicidality,” JAMA, 286, 5, August, (2001): 572-579.

• Simonelli, Catherine J, Mullis, Thomas, Elliott, Ann N, Pierce, Thomas, W. “Abuse by Siblings and Subsequent Experiences of Violence Within the Dating Relationship,” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17, 2, February (2002): 103-121.

• Sudermann, Marlies and Peter Jaffe (August 1993). Online: Accessed February 10, 2003. Available on Internet."Violence in Teen Dating Relationships Evaluation of a Large Scale Primary Prevention Program" Executive Summary

• The Sexual Assault Survivor‘s Centre. Teen Handbook, Sexual Assault Sarnia (Online) Available on Internet.

• Totten, Mark D. Guys, Gangs, and Girlfriend Abuse. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2000

• Wekerle, Christine and Effie Avgoustis, “Child maltreatment, adolescent dating, and adolescent dating violence” in P. Florsheim (Ed.) Adolescent romantic relations and sexual behaviour: Theory, research, and practical implications. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum (forthcoming).

• Wekerle, Christine and David A. Wolfe, “Dating Violence in Mid-Adolescence: Theory, Significance, and Emerging Prevention Initiatives” Clinical Psychology Review, 19, 4 (1999): 435-456.

• Wolfe, David A., Scott, Katreena, Wekerle, Christine, Pittman, Ann-Lee. “Child Maltreatment: Risk of Adjustment Problems and Dating Violence in Adolescence” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, March (2001).

• Wolfe, David A. and Christine Wekerle, “Pathways to Violence in Teen Dating Relationships” in D. Cicchette and S.L. Toth (eds), Rochester symposium on developmental psychopathology, Volume XIII: Developmental Perspectives on Trauma: Theory, Research and Intervention. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 1997: 315-342.

• Wolfe, David A. Wekerle, Christine, Scott, Katreena Scott, Straatman, Anna-Lee Grasley, Carolyn, and Deborah Reitzel-Jaffe, “Dating Violence Prevention with At-Risk Youth: A Controlled Outcome Evaluation” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (in press).

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WHERE TO GET MORE INFORMATION ON DATING VIOLENCE

• National Crime Prevention Strategy

• National Clearinghouse on Family Violence

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Endnotes

• 1 “Dating” relationships do not include individuals who are living together.

• 2 Christine Wekerle and Effie Avgoustis, “Child maltreatment, adolescent dating, and adolescent dating violence” in P. Florsheim (Ed.) Adolescent romantic relations and sexual behaviour: Theory, research, and practical implications. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, forthcoming.

• 3 Much of the material in this section is drawn from the following sources: Francine Lavoie, Line Robitaille, Martine Hébert, “Teen Dating Relationships and Aggression: An Exploratory Study,” Violence Against Women, 6, 1, January (2000): 6-36; Making Waves program materials; Canada. Department of Justice Canada. “Deterring Dating Violence Presentation and Activity Guide Intended for Secondary III, IV and V Personal and Social Education Teachers” Le petit Magazine, Spring 2002; and Canada. Department of Justice. Fact sheets on family violence and spousal abuse.

• 4 According to the Sexual Assault Survivor‘s Centre Teen Handbook (Online) (accessed June 22, 2002) Available on Internet. Date rape drugs include:

  • ROHYPNOL, which is also called Roofies, Roachies, La Rocha, The Forget Pill.
  • Gamma hydroxybutyrate, which is also called G.H.B., Grievous Bodily Harm, Liquid X, Liquid Ecstasy.
  • Ketamine, which is also called Special K.

• 5 Although it can occur at any age, most research has focused on dating violence among younger people.

• 6 Susan M. Jackson, “Issues in the Dating Violence Research: A Review of the Literature”, Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 4, 12 (1999): 241.

• 7 Walter S. DeKeseredy and Martin D. Schwartz, Woman Abuse on Campus: Results from the Canadian National Survey (London, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks:: Sage Publications, 1998): 91. Note: Based on their data analysis, the authors of this study concluded that much of the violence used by women respondents was in self-defence and is not, therefore “mutual combat” or “male partner abuse”.

• 8 Aizenman and Kelly, 1988; Burke et al., 1988; Makepeace, 1986; Muehlenhard and Linton, 1987; Sigelman et al., 1984, as cited in Susan M. Jackson, “Issues in the Dating Violence Research: A Review of the Literature”, Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 4, 12 (1999): 238.

• 9 Gagné, Lavoie and Hérbert, 1994; Mercer, 1988; Pedersen and Thomas, 1992, as cited in E. Lisa Price, E. Sandra Byers, Heather A. Sears, John Whelan, Marcelle Saint-Pierre, Dating Violence Amongst New Brunswick Adolescents: A Summary of Two Studies. Research Paper Series No. 2 (Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, January 2000): 1.

• 10 E. Lisa Price, E. Sandra Byers, Heather A. Sears, John Whelan, Marcelle Saint-Pierre, Dating Violence Amongst New Brunswick Adolescents: A Summary of Two Studies. Research Paper Series No. 2 (Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, January 2000): 1.

• 11 Pepler and Craig, 1997, as cited in Helene Berman, Anna-Lee Straatman, Kimberley Hunt, Janet Izumi, Barbara MacQuarrie, “Sexual Harassment: The Unacknowledged Face of Violence in the Lives of Girls” in Alliance of Five Research Centres on Violence, In the Best Interests of the Girl Child: Phase II Report Edited by Helene Berman and Yasmin Jiwani (Research funded by Status of Women Canada, 2002): 20.

• 12 Walter S. DeKeseredy and Martin D. Schwartz, Woman Abuse on Campus: Results from the Canadian National Survey (London, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications,1998): 40-42.

• 13 E. Lisa Price, E. Sandra Byers, Heather A. Sears, John Whelan, Marcelle Saint-Pierre, Dating Violence Amongst New Brunswick Adolescents: A Summary of Two Studies. Research Paper Series No. 2 (Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, January 2000): 4-5. Note: This survey found that 22% of young women and 12% of young men who had started dating had experienced a psychologically or physically abusive dating experience that was upsetting to them. The survey also found that 19% of young women and 4% of young men who had started dating reported experiencing sexually coercive dating situations (forced kissing and touching, attempted sexual intercourse or sexual intercourse) that had upset them.

• 14 Gagné and Lavoie (1995), as cited in E. Lisa Price, E. Sandra Byers, Heather A. Sears, John Whelan, Marcelle Saint-Pierre, Dating Violence Amongst New Brunswick Adolescents: A Summary of Two Studies. Research Paper Series No. 2 (Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, January 2000): 1.

• 15 Sudermann, Marlies and Peter Jaffe, “Violence in Teen Dating Relationships: Evaluation of a Large Scale Primary Prevention Program” Executive Summary (1993, August) (Online) (Accessed February 10, 2003) Available on Internet.

• 16 Mark D. Totten, Guys, Gangs and Girlfriend Abuse (Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press Ltd., 2000): 51-52, 65, 170.. Note: The initial data set was gathered through structured interviews with a purposive, non-representative sample of 90 male youth, ages 13-17 years. Then in-depth interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of 30 marginal, abusive youth. A “collective” act of abuse means at least two males participated in the act.

• 17 Poitras and Lavoie (1995), as cited in E. Lisa Price, E. Sandra Byers, Heather A. Sears, John Whelan, Marcelle Saint-Pierre, Dating Violence Amongst New Brunswick Adolescents: A Summary of Two Studies. Research Paper Series No. 2 (Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, January 2000): 1.

• 18 Billingham, 1987; Cate et al, 1982; Bookwala et al., 1992; Sudermann and Jaffe, 1993 as cited in Christine Wekerle and David A. Wolfe, “Dating Violence in Mid-Adolescence: Theory, Significance, and Emerging Prevention Initiatives” Clinical Psychology Review, 19, 4 (1999): 436.

• 19 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canadian Campus Survey Executive Summary Online. Accessed January 31, 2003. Available on Internet. Note: In the 12 months prior to the survey, women were more likely than men to have experienced sexual assault (5.7% versus 2.2%).

• 20 Ibid.Note: In the 12 months prior to the survey, a higher percentage of men (6.7%) than women (4.5%) reported having been physically assaulted.

• 21 Katharine Kelly and Walter S. DeKeseredy, “The Incidence and Prevalence of Woman Abuse in Canadian University and College Dating Relationships,” Canadian Journal of Sociology 18, 2 (1993): 152.

• 22 Walter S. DeKeseredy and Martin D. Schwartz, Woman Abuse on Campus: Results from the Canadian National Survey (London, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications,1998): 55.

• 23 Ibid.

• 24 Holly Johnson, Dangerous Domains: Violence Against Women in Canada (Toronto: Nelson, 1996): 112-115. Note: The VAWS did not include experiences of dating violence that may have occurred before age 16, and it did not include experiences of unwanted sexual contact that did not include outright violence or threats of violence. However, in addition to finding a higher rate of sexual violence compared to nonsexual assaults within dating relationships, many women reported having been assaulted more than once by a dating partner or by more than one male dating partner over time, and many had experienced both physical and sexual violence in dating relationships.

• 25 Ibid.

• 26 Ibid.

• 27 Wolfe et al., 1998; Reitzel-Jaffe and Wolfe, in press; Wolfe and McGee, 1994, as cited in David Wolfe, Katreena Scott, Christine Wekerle and Ann-Lee Pittman, “Child Maltreatment: Risk of Adjustment Problems and Dating Violence in Adolescence”, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, (March 2000). Catherine J. Simonelli, Thomas Mullis, Ann N. Elliott, Thomas W. Pierce, “Abuse by Siblings and Subsequent Experiences of Violence Within the Dating Relationship” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17, 2 (2002): 103-121.

• 28 University of Alberta Health Centre, Sexual Assault and the Law in Canada.

• 29 Walter S. DeKeseredy and Martin D. Schwartz, Woman Abuse on Campus: Results from the Canadian National Survey (London, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1998): 97.

• 30 Collins and Stroufe, 1999, as cited in David A. Wolfe, Christine Wekerle, Katreena Scott, Anna-Lee Straatman, Carolyn Grasley and Deborah Reitzel-Jaffe, “Dating Violence Prevention with At-Risk Youth: A Controlled Outcome Evaluation” Journal of Consultng and Clinical Psychology (in press).

• 31 Walter S. DeKeseredy and Martin D. Schwartz, Woman Abuse on Campus: Results from the Canadian National Survey (London, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1998): 122-123.

• 32 Debra J. Pepler, Wendy M. Craig, Jennifer Connolly and Kathryn Henderson, “Bullying, Sexual Harassment, Dating Violence, and Substance Use Among Adolescents” in Christine Wekerle and Anne-Marie Wall (Eds.) The Violence and Addiction Equation: Theoretical and Clinical Issues in Substance Abuse and Relationship Violence (New York: Brunner-Routledge, 2002): 165.

• 33 Walter S. DeKeseredy and Martin D. Schwartz, Woman Abuse on Campus: Results from the Canadian National Survey (London, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1998): 115-116.

• 34 Boeringer, Shehan and Akers, 1991; DeKeseredy, 1990; DeKeseredy and Kelly, 1995; Lavoie, Herbert and Dufort, 1995, as cited in Susan M. Jackson, “Issues in the Dating Violence Research: A Review of the Literature”, Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 4, 12 (1999): 242.

• 35 Walter S. DeKeseredy and Martin D. Schwartz, Woman Abuse on Campus: Results from the Canadian National Survey (London, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1998): 101-102, 106-107.

• 36 Walter S. DeKeseredy and Martin D. Schwartz, Woman Abuse on Campus: Results from the Canadian National Survey (London, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications,1998): 113. Note: The authors indicate that they have drawn this conclusion “tentatively”.

• 37 Lavoie, Vezina, Piche and Boivin, 1993; Gagné and Lavoie, 1993; Gamache, 1991, as cited in Walter S. DeKeseredy and Martin D. Schwartz, Woman Abuse on Campus: Results from the Canadian National Survey (London, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1998): 52-53.

• 38 Yasmin Jiwani, Nancy Janovioek, Angela Cameron, “Erased Realities: The Violence of Racism in the Lives of Immigrant and Refugee Girls of Colour” in Alliance of the Five Research Centres on Violence, Violence Prevention and the Girl Child: Final Report Edited by Helene Berman and Yasmin Jiwani (Research funded by Status of Women Canada, 1999); The Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women, Changing the Landscape: Ending Violence – Achieving Equality Final Report (Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services, 1993).

• 39 Much of the information in this section of the fact sheet is drawn from the following sources: Making Waves program materials; Canada. Department of Justice Canada. “Deterring Dating Violence Presentation and Activity Guide Intended for Secondary III, IV and V Personal and Social Education Teachers” Le petit Magazine, Spring 2002.

• 40 Jay G. Silverman, Anita Raj, Lorelei A. Mucci, Jeanne E. Hathaway, “Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behaviour, Pregnancy and Suicidality” JAMA, 286, 5 (August 1, 2001): 572-579 (Abstract) (Online) (Accessed August 1, 2001) Available on Internet.

• 41 Makepeace, 1998; Larkin and Popaleni, 1994; Miller and Simpson, 1991; Bethke and De Joy, 1993; Jacobson, 1994; Kelly and DeKeseredy, 1994; Follingstad et al., 1991 as cited in Susan M. Jackson, “Issues in the Dating Violence Research: A Review of the Literature”, Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 4, 12 (1999): 238

• 42 Cascardi, Avery-Leaf, O‘Leary and Smith Slep, 1999, as cited in Helene Berman, Anna-Lee Straatman, Kimberley Hunt, Janet Izumi, Barbara MacQuarrie, “Sexual Harassment: The Unacknowledged Face of Violence in the Lives of Girls” in Alliance of Five Research Centres on Family Violence, In the Best Interests of the Girl Child: Phase II Report Edited by Helene Berman and Yasmin Jiwani (Research funded by Status of Women Canada, January 2002): 22.

• 43 Aggravated sexual assault is a “presumptive offence” and a youth found guilty of such an offence could be tried as an adult.

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