How common is woman abuse in relationships with partners?

Abuse can affect all types of women, in all types of relationships. It can happen to a woman no matter:

• how old she is
• how much education she has
• how much money she makes
• what culture she comes from
• what her social class is
• what her sexual orientation is, or
• whether she has a disability.

When it is physical, this abuse is also called "assault." When it is from a partner, it is sometimes called "battering."

What some studies have shown

In 1993 Statistics Canada did a National Survey on Violence Against Women. They found out that a male partner has abused almost one out of three women in Canada. This included both physical and sexual abuse. Over half of these women were badly hurt.

A 1989 study showed that battering was the most common way North American women were injured. More women visited the emergency room for battering than for auto accidents, rapes, and muggings combined.

The most dangerous time for the woman is when she is trying to leave her partner, or shortly after she has left. One third of women who were assaulted while still with their partner feared being killed at some point.

Between 1974 and 1994, a married woman was nine times more likely to be killed by her spouse than by a stranger.

How it affects specific groups of women

Here is what some studies have shown:

• More than one in five abused women were assaulted by their spouse during pregnancy.
• In another study, the same number of women reported that the abuse got worse during pregnancy.

• Almost two out of five women with disabilities have been physically or sexually assaulted by their partners.
• This is 10% more than the amount of women without disabilities whose partners have assaulted them.

• Of older females who were assaulted, more than one in four were assaulted by a family member.
• This is compared to one in seven older males.

• Not much research has been done in this area. However, the estimate is that violence happens between one in every six gay and lesbian couples.
• In a Québec study, one in ten lesbians said that a partner had abused them.

Does violence against women happen outside the family?

More than half of reported assaults happen in the home. This means that many women can also be abused or assaulted in other ways. These include:

• Date rape and acquaintance rape
• Workplace harassment
• Stalking
• Sexual assault.

In almost all cases, the women know the man who assaulted them. They could be:

• Relatives
• Co-workers
• Neighbours
• Persons who they trust or who are in positions of authority (clergy, doctors, therapists).

Are men ever abused by their partners?

It is true that men can be abused by a female partner. Still, far more women are abused by comparison. One study found that wife assault happens in almost three out of four cases of family violence. Husband assault only accounts for one out of every hundred cases. Men are far more likely to be assaulted by other men.

References

Canadian Centre for Justice. Uniform Crime reporting Survey (UCRII), 1996.

Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS), unpublished data in A Report of the Law Society of British Columbia Gender Bias Committee 1992.

Evan D. Stark and A. Flitcraft. "Violence Among Intimates: An Epidemiological Review." In Handbook of Family Violence, Van Hasselt, ed., (New York, NY: 1989), 293-318.

Hillard, "Physical Abuse in Pregnancy." Obstet. Gynecol., (66,1985), 185-190, quoted in Bert Schie, "Reproductive Consequences of Wife Assault," Education Wife Assault Newsletter (Winter, 1997).

Island, D. and Letellier, P. Men Who Beat the Men Who Love Them: Battered Gay Men and Domestic Violence. New York: Haworth Press, 1991.

Ministry of Supply and Services Canada. Changing the Landscape: Ending Violence – Achieving Equality: Final Report of the Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women. 1993.

Ridington, Jillian. Beating the Odds: Violence and Women with Disabilities. Vancouver: DAWN Canada, 1989.

Statistics Canada. National Survey on Violence Against Women, 1993.

Statistics Canada. Publication no. 85-002. Vol 12, no. 21, November 1992.

Woman Killing: Intimate Femicide in Ontario 1974-1990 (1992) by the Women We Honour Action Committee.

Woman Killing: Intimate Femicide in Ontario 1991-1994 (1997) by the Women We Honour Action Committee.

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This question was prepared for the Canadian Health Network by Education Wife Assault and the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence.
Created: April 1999