Family Violence:
Department of Justice Canada Overview paper

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What is Family Violence?

Family violence includes many different forms of abuse, mistreatment or neglect that adults or children may experience in their intimate, family or dependent relationships. The definition of family violence continues to evolve as the nature and extent of violence within intimate relationships and families becomes better understood.

In the past two decades, more public and professional attention has concentrated on the following issues:

• violence against women in intimate relationships (intimate partner violence[1] or woman abuse), including spousal abuse, dating violence and other forms of violence against women;
• child abuse, including sexual abuse and exploitation of children and youth; and
• abuse of older adults.[2]

Forms of Abuse

There are many different forms of abuse, and victims may experience more than one form. Anyone, at any life stage, can be subjected to abuse, but children and dependent adults can be more vulnerable to being victimized in specific ways. (See "Abuse of Children and Dependent Adults" below.)

Although many of the abusive behaviours described below are criminal acts in Canada, some are not. Child welfare legislation and provincial legislation on family and domestic violence address some types of abuse. For more information about the Criminal Code provisions that may apply, please see the "Role of the Criminal Code" sections of each overview paper.

Physical abuse

includes any intentional use of physical force that either injures or risks injuring someone. Physical abuse may include:

• restraining
• confining
• being held underwater
• beating
• hitting or slapping
• shaking
• pushing or shoving
• choking
• biting
• pulling hair
• burning or scalding
• kicking
• assaulting with a weapon[3]
• performing female genital mutilation (FGM)[4]

These types of physical abuse are all examples of the crime of assault under the Criminal Code. The last two examples, assault with a weapon and female genital mutilation, are dealt with under separate provisions of the Criminal Code that address some of the more serious forms of assault.

Sexual abuse and exploitation

includes all forms of sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation[5] and sexual coercion. Sexual abuse includes forcing a person to participate in any unwanted, unsafe or degrading sexual activity. It also includes using ridicule or other tactics to try to belittle, control or limit a person's sexuality or their reproductive choices.

Sexual assault

is a crime in Canada and includes any unwanted touching of a sexual nature. This may include:

• any kissing, fondling, touching, oral sex or sexual intercourse without consent; and
• continued sexual contact when asked to stop.

Sexual harassment

includes unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour, actions or words. Many acts of sexual harassment are not crimes but are dealt with under labour or educational institution regulations. Sexual harassment may include:

• making lewd comments or gestures to cause embarrassment, and
• other behaviours, actions or words that are
  • sexual in nature;
  • likely to offend or humiliate;
  • related to a person's gender, sexuality or body parts; and
  • repeated even after the person has been told to stop.

Sexual exploitation

is also a crime in Canada. This includes involving someone in prostitution or forcing them to participate in pornographic acts or performances for personal or commercial use.[6]

Sexual coercion

includes manipulating a person or situation unfairly in order to get sex. This may include:

• 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 them that would damage their reputation in order to get sex; and
• exploiting or taking sexual advantage of someone, including victims who are younger or intoxicated. This includes using the Internet or date rape drugs[7] to prey on someone for sex.

Sexual coercion is a crime in Canada when any person involved does not consent. It is not legal consent if the person consenting does not voluntarily agree to engage in the sexual activity in question. The Criminal Code sets out a number of circumstances which would make coercive, sexual activity a crime when there is a lack of true consent.[8]

Psychological or emotional abuse

involves using words or actions to control, isolate, intimidate or dehumanize someone. Psychological or emotional abuse includes any act or omission that reduces an individual's sense of self-worth; damages their psychological and emotional integrity; or puts them at risk of behavioural, cognitive, emotional or mental disorders. This type of abuse occurs when a person behaves in any of the following ways:

• is cruel, deceitful or manipulative;
• verbally attacks—ridiculing, insulting, name-calling, yelling, screaming or swearing;
• uses constant criticism, verbal threats, social isolation, intimidation or exploitation to dominate someone;
• routinely makes unreasonable demands;
• is excessively jealous and possessive and does not allow someone to have friends or talk to or be with others;
• spreads gossip or rumors about someone; or
• terrorizes a person. (See Criminal harassment below.)

Criminal harassment

is a specific form of psychological and emotional abuse, which is a crime in Canada. When perpetrated by current or former intimate partners or other family members, criminal harassment is a form of family violence. Often referred to as stalking or repeatedly following someone from place to place, criminal harassment involves unwanted attention that causes a person to fear for their safety or the safety of someone known to them. It may also include:

• following or contacting someone repeatedly;[9]
• threatening to harm someone, their family members or their pets;
• making repeated, unwanted telephone calls;
• sending constant e-mail messages;
• sending unwanted gifts; and
• spying on someone or tracking their movements.

Criminal harassment can cause victims to feel intimidated and to experience psychological and emotional distress. Acts of criminal harassment are often followed by acts of violence[10]

Economic or financial abuse

includes acting without consent in a way that financially benefits one person at the expense of another. Economic or financial abuse may include:

• manipulating or exploiting someone for financial gain, including theft, fraud, forgery or extortion;[11]
• withholding money to buy food or medical treatment[12] or generally denying access to financial resources; and
• preventing a person from working or controlling their choice of occupation.

Many forms of financial abuse are crimes in Canada.

Spiritual abuse

includes:

• preventing a person from engaging in spiritual or religious practices;
• using a person's religious or spiritual beliefs to exploit, manipulate, dominate or control them; and
• ridiculing or belittling someone's beliefs.

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How Widespread Is Family Violence in Canada?

Reporting and Disclosure Issues

The full extent of family violence in Canada is difficult to calculate because, often, it is not disclosed or reported either by the victim or by those who witness or suspect it is occurring.

National Studies, Surveys and Other Data Sources on Family Violence in Canada

Since the 1980s, the federal government has gathered national-level information on family violence in Canada. Examples of ground-breaking studies and surveys include the 1984 Badgley Report on Child Sexual Abuse,[15]the 1993 Violence Against Women Survey,[16] the 1993 Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women[17]and the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.[18] National surveys, such as the General Social Survey (GSS), the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect,and the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, provide valuable information on victimization and crime trends related to many forms of family violence. The results of national surveys and research have made it clear that family violence is not just an individual, private or family matter; it is a pervasive and complex societal problem in Canada.

Data Sources for the Department of Justice Canada Overview Papers

Although many cases of abuse are still not reported to either police or child welfare authorities, data from national victimization surveys, police reports and child welfare authorities are the most complete sources of information about family violence. This overview paper series presents some of the key data on family violence as drawn from the following publications:

• Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile, (PDF Version (254KB), PDF Help) is an annual publication prepared by Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics since 2000. These reports include data from the following sources:
  • the General Social Survey (GSS), a national survey that has collected information on victimization in several cycles, including 1988, 1993, 1999 and 2004;
  • the Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR2) Survey, which provides data on individual criminal incidents from a sub-set of police services across Canada; and
  • the Homicide Survey, which provides data on all homicide incidents from police services across Canada.

• Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect—2003—Major Findings.[19] The Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS) is a national study that estimates the extent of reported child abuse in Canada based on data from child welfare authorities. The CIS 2003 is the second CIS study conducted at the national level.The results provide key data on the incidence of reported child maltreatment and the characteristics of the children and families investigated by Canadian child welfare services. During the fall 2003, the CIS 2003 tracked 14,200 child maltreatment investigations conducted using a representative sample of 63 child welfare service areas across Canada.[20]
• Individual Research Studies: In some cases, where national data do not yet exist, the overview papers provide findings from relevant research studies, including research from the Department of Justice Canada and other sources.

Key Data on Family Violence

Some of the most recent national data on family violence indicate the following:

• An estimated 7 percent of Canadian women and men aged 15 years and over who were in a current or previous, marital or common-law relationship, experienced some form of spousal violence in the five years prior to the 2004 GSS.[21] This includes a rate of 7 percent for women (653,000 women) and 6 percent for men (546,000 men).[22]
• Not all incidents of spousal or intimate partner violence are reported to the police. According to the 2004 GSS, less than one-third (28 percent) of spousal violence victims reported the violence to the police and, before they did, almost two-thirds (61 percent) had experienced more than one violent incident.[23]
• The 2004 GSS indicates that Aboriginal people were three times more likely than those who were non-Aboriginal to be victims of spousal violence. Overall, 21 percent of Aboriginal people (24 percent of Aboriginal women and 18 percent of Aboriginal men) said that they had suffered violence from a current or previous spouse or common-law partner in the five-year period up to 2004. The rate for non-Aboriginal people was 7 percent in the same period.[24]
• According to the 2004 GSS, more than 2.3 million Canadians aged 15 years and older had been stalked in the five years prior to the survey. About 17 percent of stalking victims reported being stalked by current or former intimate partners.[25]
• Family violence harms many people who are not the direct target. According to the 2004 GSS, a person other than the spouse was harmed or threatened in 11 percent of spousal assaults in the previous five years of which 44 percent of these were children under the age of 15. In addition, 394,000 spousal violence victims, representing one third (33 percent) of all victims of spousal violence, reported that children saw or heard this violence.[26]

Other data sources indicate that:

• In 2006, almost half (22 percent) of all the incidents of violent crime reported to the police[27] were committed by a family member, and more than half of the victims of family violence were victimized by their spouse.[28] The majority (83 percent) of police-reported spousal violence in 2006 involved female victims, while male victims accounted for 17 percent.[29]
• In 2006, the rate of police-reported physical and sexual assaults against children and youth was higher than the rate for adults. Parents were the most common perpetrators of violence against children, particularly physical assault.[30] Male family members were accused in 96 percent of family-related sexual assaults and 71 percent of physical assaults against children and youth. Female family members were accused in 4 percent of family-related sexual assaults and 29 percent of physical assaults against children and youth.[31]
• In 2003, an estimated 217,319 child maltreatment investigations were conducted in Canada, excluding Quebec. Almost half (47 percent) of these were substantiated (confirmed after an investigation).[32] Another 13 percent were suspected but could not be confirmed by available evidence.
• Two percent of all victims of violent crime in 2005 were older adults, aged 65 and older. Family members were accused in 30 percent of these incidents.[33]
• Between 1996 and 2005, nearly half (46 percent) of the solved homicides in Canada were family-related. Spousal homicides accounted for 17 percent of all solved homicides during this period. In 2005 alone, 74 spousal homicides were reported to police.[34]
• Between 1997 and 2005, according to the Homicide Survey, 26 percent of the victims of spousal homicide cases (687 victims) involved a homicide-suicide, i. e., a homicide in which the accused committed suicide. Roughly 5 percent of incidents involved prior threats of—or attempts at—suicide, and occurred most often among male spouses.[35]

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