Canadians believe not having a safe place to go is a factor why women stay in abusive relationships

New Canadian Women's Foundation research also indicates Canadians believe children and economic dependency additional reasons why a woman may not leave an abusive partner

TORONTO, April 24, 2013 /CNW/ - A new national omnibus^† for the Canadian Women's Foundation shows approximately three-quarters of Canadians believe having children (75%), economic dependency (74%) and having nowhere to go (73%) may influence a woman's decision to stay in an abusive relationship.

"Many women who experience domestic violence don't know where to find the support they need to leave an abusive partner," said Anu Dugal, Director of Violence Prevention at the Canadian Women's Foundation. "There are more than 445 emergency shelters in Canada, each of which offer support and a safe place for women to begin rebuilding their lives after abuse. However, many Canadians do not know that they exist, proving that we need to continue to talk about and raise awareness for domestic violence issues and support services in Canada."

The Canadian Women's Foundation launched their 9^th annual campaign to end violence against women April 13, 2013. The campaign, which runs until Mother's Day on May 12, 2013, raises awareness about the issue of violence against women. The initiative also raises funds to support the more than 445 local emergency shelters, as well as community violence prevention programs that help break the cycle of violence.

Violence against women is defined by the United Nations as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women.  The study also showed that the majority (97 per cent) of Canadians consider it unacceptable for a husband/boyfriend/partner to hit a woman in any situation. However, a 2012 study^†† for the Canadian Women's Foundation revealed that 67 per cent of Canadians know a woman who has been physically or sexually abused.

"We believe that all violence is wrong," said Dugal. "The patterns of abuse are often learned early, and at the Canadian Women's Foundation we are actively funding programs that help teens understand what constitutes a healthy relationship, including how to recognize and leave an unhealthy relationship before it is too late. These programs allow teens to learn from the experiences of others in their peer group. By focusing on building assertiveness and developing communications skills with teens, we can help break the cycle of violence."

If you know a woman experiencing abuse who is asking for help and who has shared her story with you, there are many steps she can take to increase her safety and the safety of her children, including:

• Tell someone she trusts about the abuse.
• Plan where to go in case of emergency - a friend or family member, emergency shelter or police station. Teach her children how to get help in an emergency.
• Teach her children a code word that can be used when they need to seek help or escape the home.
• Create a plan to get out of the home safely and practice that plan with the children.
• If an argument starts to happen, move to a space with easy access to the outdoors. Don't go to a room where there is access to potential weapons (kitchen, workshop).
• Hide a spare set of keys, cell phone and some money near an escape route.
• Have copies of important documents like passports, health cards, birth certificates or financial information with her or easily accessible.
• Have a list of phone numbers to call in case of emergency and teach her children how and why to call 911.
• Teach her children that abuse is never right, even when someone they love is the abuser. Teach them the importance of keeping safe when there is abuse by not attempting to intervene when abuse happens.

^†Methodology: Online survey among 1,008 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists, conducted on February 19 and February 20, 2013. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada.

^††Methodology: Online survey among 1,504 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists, conducted on November 22 and November 23, 2012. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada.

About Canadian Women's Foundation

The Canadian Women's Foundation is Canada's public foundation for women and girls. We empower women and girls in Canada to move out of violence, out of poverty and into confidence. Since 1991, we've raised money and invested in over 1,200 community programs across Canada, and are now one of the ten largest women's foundations in the world. We take a positive approach to address root causes of the most critical issues facing women and girls. We study and share the best ways to create long-term change and bring community organizations together for training and to learn from each other. We carefully select and fund the programs with the strongest outcomes and regularly evaluate their work. We have a special focus on building a community of women helping other women. Helping women creates safer families and communities, and a more prosperous society for all of us. We invest in the power of women and the dreams of girls. For more information please visit www.canadianwomen.org

For more information, you can visit the Canadian Women's Foundation online at www.canadianwomen.org or tweet using hashtag #cdnwomen

Editors Note: When referring to the Canadian Women's Foundation, please use the full name. Please do not abbreviate or use acronyms. 

SOURCE: Canadian Women's Foundation

including interviews with Canadian Women's Foundation representatives as well as information on the Canadian Women's Foundation annual campaign to end violence against women:

Sara Beckford
Fleishman-Hillard
[email protected]
416-645-8184 (O)
416-357-8740 (M)