Through the Rain

What is violence against women?

Violence can be physical- such as kicking, choking, stabbing, mutilation, disabling, murder.          

Violence can be sexual- such as rape, any unwanted touching or act of sexual nature, forced prostitution.

Violence can be verbal/psychological-  such as threats to harm the children, destruction of favourite clothes or photographs, repeated insults meant to demean and erode self-esteem, forced isolation from friends and relatives, threats of further violence or deportation if the woman attempts to leave.

Violence can be stalking- such as persistant and unwanted attention, following and spying, monitoring of mail or conversations.

Violence can be financial- such as taking away a woman's wages or other income, limiting or forbidding access to the family income. 

Violence can be other forms of control and abuse of power. 

•  Over a quarter (29%) of Canadian women have been assaulted by a spouse. Forty-five percent of women assaulted by a male partner suffered physical injury. Injuries included bruising, cuts, scratches, burns, broken bones, fractures, internal injuries and miscarriages.
• Half of Canadian women have survived at least one incident of sexual or physical violence.
• Fear of violence also limits many women's lives. Forty-two percent of women compared with 10% of men feel "totally unsafe" walking in their own neighborhood after dark. Over a third (37%) of women, compared with one in 10 men, are worried about being in their own homes alone in the evening or night.
• Young women and female children are highly vulnerable to sexual assault. In 1997, persons under 18 were 24% of the population but represented 60% of all sexual assault victims and one fifth (19%) of physical assault victims. Of sexual offences against kids under 12, the ages at which boys are most likely to be sexually assaulted, girls victims outnumber boys by two to one. Women under 25 are also at the greatest risk of being killed by their male partners
• A disabled women's network survey found that 40% of women with disabilities have been raped, abused or assaulted.
• More then half of all reported physical assaults on adult women are by family members, half by their spouses. Only 14% of assaults on men are committed by family members, 8% by their male or female intimate partners.
• Any kind of violence is wrong, be it against women, men or children. The idea is not to paint men as villains, but to try to understand the root causes of violence and how to prevent it.
• A small study found that 20% of lesbians had experienced some form of emotion/psychological or physical violence in a relationship with a woman. Eleven percent had experience physical violence, and 2% had been sexually assaulted in the relationship.

It is important to know that women do not lie about sexual assault any more then anyone might lie about having been robbed or other criminal acts committed against them. In fact, one quarter of sexually assaulted women never tell anyone about the assault. Reporting assault can be almost as traumatic as the sexual assault itself. Women and girls need to be supported, understood and believed.

*Information above courtesy of Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women*

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