Intimate partner violence (IPV)
Both men and women experience domestic violence (intimate partner violence). It is a common form of violent behaviour and is a major problem in Canada. A national survey reported that 8% of women and 7% of men experienced some type of violence from their intimate partner. Statistics show that approximately 344 incidents of domestic violence for every 100,000 women are reported to authorities and 62 incidents per 100,000 men are reported.
Intimate partner violence may involve physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, such as:
- Hitting, pushing, shaking, slapping, kicking, pinching, and burning or threats to hurt you, your children, or pets. Drugging you with medicine, tying you up, and physical punishment of any kind also are kinds of abuse.
- Not trusting you or spying on you, such as repeatedly calling or checking up on you for no good reason.
- Name-calling, insults, threats, or putting you down in front of others.
- Forcing you to have sex or do other sexual acts. This can range from unwanted touching to rape, sodomy, forced nudity, forcing you to watch pornography, or forcing you to act out pornography. Preventing you from using birth control or protecting yourself from sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is also abuse.
The National Clearinghouse on Family Violence Hotline can help you find resources in your area. This nationwide database has detailed information on domestic violence shelters, other emergency shelters, legal support and assistance programs, and social service programs.
Contact information
- Call 1-800-267-1291 or (613) 957-2938.
- Call 1-800-561-5643 (TTY).
- Visit the Web site at www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence.
- Send e-mail to ncfv-cnivf@phac-aspc.gc.ca (e-mail is not confidential or secure).
| Author: | Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC | Last Updated: July 27, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Tom Bailey, MD - Family Medicine Brigid McCaw, MD, MS, MPH, FACP - Family Violence Prevention | |
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