Little eyes, little ears - Agence de la sante publique du Canada

little eyes,little earsFacts & figuresAbuse in the home is hiddenbehind closed doorsThat makes it difficult to get an accurate statistical picture.How do we learn about violenceagainst women in intimaterelationships?• anonymous• review• review• talkingtelephone surveys ofthe general populationof cases reported to or discoveredby the policeof cases where women were murderedby an intimate partnerwith women who are experiencingor have survived violenceGeneral Social Survey24, 26The GSS is an anonymous telephone survey conductedannually. In 2004, surveyors asked 24,000 randomlychosen adults (over the age of 15) 10 questions about“spousal violence.” They asked about incidents rangingfrom threats to being beaten, all of which are against thelaw. Among women who were married or in a common-lawrelationship at any point over the previous five years:• 7% reported at least one incident of spousal violenceat some point over those five years• 63% had separated from that partner by thetime of the survey• 60% reported more than one incident overthose five years• 9% felt afraid for their children during the incident40% said a child heard or saw the violence or threat• 51% of female victims whose children witnessed theviolence called the police, a higher rate than womenwhose children did not witness the incident (30%)or women who had no children (25%) 24According to the GSS, in almost5% of incidents of spousalviolence (perpetrated by eithera male or female) a child wasthreatened or harmed.-Statistics Canada used data from the GSS to estimate theincidence of spousal violence in the adult population ofCanada. According to their calculations, 196,000 women, orabout 2% of women in relationships, experienced at leastone incident of spousal violence in the previous 12 months.Each year, Statistics Canada releases adocument called Family Violence in Canada:A Statistical Profile. Find it on-line or order a copyfrom the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence.What do police statistics show?• 87% of complainants in partner assault cases reportedto or discovered by the police are female 25• in most cases where police are involved they are calledone time (86%), but police attended five times or morein 3% of cases with male perpetrators 244