Intimate partner violence: Experiences of young women in Canada, 2018

Canadian research has consistently shown that younger people are more likely than older people to be victims of violence (Conroy and Cotter 2017; Cotter and Savage 2019; Perreault 2015). In addition to age, gender has also been shown to be associated with an increased risk of violence, with women being overrepresented as victims (Burczycka 2016; Cotter 2021a; Cotter and Savage 2019). The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes violence against women as a serious public health concern that has profound immediate and long-term negative impacts on victims and survivors^Note  (World Health Organization 2012). Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a form of gender-based violence, and encompasses a broad range of behaviours including emotional, psychological, financial, physical and sexual abuse committed by a current or former legally married spouse, common-law partner, or dating partner. Police-reported data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey show that IPV accounts for approximately one-third of police-reported violent crime in Canada (Burczycka 2019; Conroy 2021). Although both women and men experience IPV, research to date has consistently found that women experience the most severe forms (physical assault and sexual assault) of intimate partner violence (Burczycka 2016; Burczycka 2019). Furthermore, homicide data have consistently shown that women victims of homicide in Canada are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than by any other type of perpetrator (Roy and Marcellus 2019).

Using self-reported data from the 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS), this report focuses on the experiences of IPV among young women aged 15 to 24 years in the 12 months preceding the survey.^Note  Lifetime (since age 15) experiences of IPV among young women are limited but included. It should be noted that, although comparisons between age groups are made when discussing the 12 month prevalence of IPV, age has a considerable impact on the reference period for lifetime IPV and, as such, direct comparisons between age groups are cautioned. Simply put, women aged 25 years and older will have had more time to have been exposed to experiences of IPV.

This report will also explore how different demographic characteristics may intersect and have an impact on the risk of experiencing IPV, the emotional impacts and consequences of IPV, and experiences of non-intimate partner physical and sexual assault. Understanding young women’s experiences of intimate partner violence is critical as previous research shows an association between experiencing IPV in adolescence and experiencing IPV in adulthood (Cui et al. 2013; Saint-Eloi Cadely et al. 2020).

This report is one in a series of reports highlighting the experiences of intimate partner violence among various populations based on data from the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS). The other reports in this series focus on the experiences of women (Cotter 2021a), Indigenous women (Heidinger 2021), sexual minority women (Jaffray 2021a) and men (Jaffray 2021b), women with disabilities (Savage 2021a), and ethno-cultural minority women (Cotter 2021b).^Note 

Start of text box 1

End of text box 1

Young women more likely than women aged 25 and older to have been sexually assaulted by an intimate partner in the 12 months preceding the survey

Intimate partner violence (IPV) includes overt forms of violence like physical and sexual assault, as well as emotional, financial and psychological abuse. Although not all of these abusive behaviours rise to the threshold of criminal behaviour, emotional, financial and psychological abuse can cause profound emotional distress that can severely impact people’s everyday lives (Estefan et al. 2016; Sullivan et al. 2012).

According to the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS), more than four in ten (44%) women—who had ever been in an intimate partner relationship—reported experiencing some form of IPV in their lifetime (since age 15). This represents 6.2 million women aged 15 years and older. In comparison, 36% of ever-partnered^Note  men reported experiencing some form of IPV since age 15.

Looking specifically at young women aged 15 to 24 years, almost three in ten (29%) reported experiencing some form of IPV in the 12 months preceding the survey (Table 1). This proportion was much higher than that observed among ever-partnered women aged 25 years and older (10%). The same age-related pattern was evident among men, where the highest 12-month prevalence of IPV was among men aged 15 to 24 years (Cotter 2021a). There was also no statistically significant difference between 15-to-24-year-old young women and young men when it came to the proportion experiencing IPV in the 12 months preceding the survey (Cotter 2021a).

In the 12 months preceding the survey, young women were more likely than women aged 25 years and older to experience all three categories of IPV measured by the SSPPS (Table 1; Table 2). Specifically, young women were five times more likely to have been sexually assaulted (5% versus 1% of women aged 25 years and older), three times more likely to have been physically assaulted (6% and 2%, respectively), and almost three times more likely to have been emotionally, financially or psychologically abused by an intimate partner in the previous 12 months (28% versus 10%).

Looking specifically at sexual assault, young women were five times more likely than women aged 25 years and older to report that their partner had forced or tried to force them to have sex in the 12 months prior to the survey (5% and 1%, respectively). Young women were also four times more likely to report that their partner made them perform sex acts that they did not want to perform (4%, versus 1% of women aged 25 years and older) (Table 1).

When it came to physically abusive behaviours, 6% of young women said that their partner had shaken, pushed, grabbed or thrown them in the past 12 months, compared to 1% of women aged 25 years and older. Young women were also four times more likely than women aged 25 years and older to say that their partner had hit them with a fist or object, kicked or bit them (4%, versus 0.5%), threatened to hit them with their fist or anything that could hurt them (4%, versus 1%), and that their partner had slapped them (4%, versus 0.5%) in the 12 months preceding the survey (Table 1).

The most common psychologically abusive behaviours reported by young women were a partner being jealous and not wanting them to talk to other men or women (29%), being put down or called names to make them feel bad (20%), and being told they were crazy, stupid, or not good enough (17%). Although these abusive behaviours were also the ones most often reported by women aged 25 years and older, they experienced them at much lower proportions (3%, 7% and 6%, respectively).

Four in ten women aged 15 to 19 experienced IPV in the past 12 months

Studies have shown a high prevalence of physical and sexual assault among high school and post-secondary students (Burczycka 2020; Cui et al. 2013; Gage 2016; Maxwell 2020; Schultz and Jaycox 2008). Adolescents are at a high risk for IPV, which has been linked to some negative outcomes in adulthood, including substance use, poorer educational outcomes, risky sexual behaviour, and an increased risk of experiencing IPV in adulthood (Coker et al. 2014; Cui et al. 2013; Decker et al. 2014; Gage 2016). Although this report focuses on young women aged 15 to 24, a further age breakdown is possible. This section of the report will look at the prevalence of IPV in the 12 months preceding the survey among women aged 15 to 19 years, compared with women aged 20 to 24 years, and women aged 25 years and older.

More than four in ten (43%) women aged 15 to 19 years experienced some form of intimate partner violence in the 12 months preceding the survey. This proportion was significantly higher than those observed among ever-partnered women aged 20 to 24 (24%) and women aged 25 years and older (10%) (Chart 1).

Chart 1 start

Chart 1 end

Notably, 15-to-19-year-old women were far more likely to experience psychological abuse by an intimate partner in the past 12 months compared to their older counterparts (43% versus 22% of 20-to-24-year-olds and 10% of women aged 25 years and older).

Women aged 15 to 19 years were eight times more likely than women aged 25 years and older to have been sexually assaulted by an intimate partner in the 12 months prior to the survey (8% and 1%, respectively) (Chart 1). The difference between women aged 15 to 19 and women aged 20 to 24 who were sexually assaulted by an intimate partner in the past 12 months was not statistically significant.

Moreover, women aged 15 to 19 years were far more likely than their older counterparts to report experiencing physical assault at the hands of an intimate partner in the 12 months prior to the survey (13% versus 4% of women aged 20 to 24 and 2% of women aged 25 years and older) (Chart 1). Around one in ten (11%) women aged 15 to 19 years said that a partner had slapped them in the 12 months preceding the survey. In comparison, this physical abuse was experienced by 1% of women aged 20 to 24 and 0.8% of women aged 25 years and older. Further, 11% of women aged 15 to 19 years said that a partner had threatened them with violence, that is to hit them with their first or anything that could hurt them in the past 12 months, compared to 1% of women aged 20 to 24 and 0.5% of women aged 25 years and older.

Women aged 15 to 19 and women aged 20 to 24 are five times more likely than women aged 25 years and older to have been physically or sexually assaulted by a non-intimate partner in the past 12 months

In addition to asking questions about experiences of intimate partner violence, the SSPPS also asked about non-intimate partner violence; that is, violence committed by a friend, acquaintance or stranger. When it came to violence committed outside of an intimate partner relationship, women aged 15 to 19 and women aged 20 to 24 were significantly more likely than women aged 25 years and older to have been physically or sexually assaulted by a non-intimate partner in the 12 months preceding the survey (15% and 15% and 3%, respectively). Although women aged 15 to 19 were more likely than women aged 20 to 24 to be physically or sexually assaulted by an intimate partner in the 12 months preceding the survey, there were no statistically significant differences between them for non-intimate partner violence.

Specifically, 6% of women aged 15 to 19 and 6% women aged 20 to 24 had been physically assaulted by a non-intimate partner in the previous 12 months, compared to 1% of women aged 25 years and older. More than one in ten (12%) women aged 15 to 19 and women aged 20 to 24 had been sexually assaulted, compared to 2% of women aged 25 years and older.

IPV more common among certain populations

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes that intimate partner violence occurs in all settings and among all socioeconomic, religious and cultural groups, research has shown that certain groups of women are more at-risk for IPV than others, including young women, women with disabilities (Savage 2021a), sexual minority women (Jaffray 2021a), and Indigenous women (Heidinger 2021). In other words, other characteristics intersect with gender to impact the likelihood of experiencing IPV.

Previous research shows that people who are visible minorities tend to be less likely to experience violence in Canada; however, this finding has been largely attributed to lower victimization rates among immigrant visible minorities. In general, research shows that non-immigrant visible minorities tend to have similar rates of violence as non-visible minorities (Cotter 2021b; Ibrahim 2018; Simpson 2018). According to the SSPPS, one-quarter (25%) of visible minority women aged 15 to 24 experienced some form of intimate partner violence in the 12 months prior to the survey (Table 3). This proportion was similar to the proportion reported by non-visible minority women aged 15 to 24 (30%) and much higher than that of visible minority women aged 25 years and older (7%) (Table 3). For information specific to visible minority immigrant women and their experiences of IPV, see Cotter (2021b).

Women with a disability are often overrepresented as victims of violence, including violence committed within an intimate partner relationship (Savage 2021a). Young women with a disability were more than twice as likely as women aged 25 and older living with a disability to report experiencing some form of IPV in the 12 months preceding the survey (33% and 14%, respectively) (Table 3).  

Victimization during childhood increased the risk of being a victim of IPV. Research has consistently shown an association between experiencing some type of physical, sexual or emotional abuse during childhood and an increased risk of experiencing victimization in adulthood (Burczycka and Conroy 2017; Cotter 2021a; Cotter and Savage 2019; Parks et al. 2011; Tillyer 2012; Widom et al. 2008). Among young women who had been physically or sexually abused at least once before age 15, just under three-quarters (72%) said that they had experienced some form of IPV in their lifetime. This proportion was significantly higher than that of those who had never experienced childhood abuse (50%). Similarly, young women who reported experiencing harsh parenting ^Note  were also more likely than those who had never experienced harsh parenting to report experiencing IPV (62% and 43%, respectively) (Table 3).

Almost half of young women victims of IPV feel anxious or on edge because of an intimate partner

Intimate partner violence can have immediate and long-term emotional, psychological and physical impacts on victims, including feelings of anxiety, shock, fear, depression and suicidal thoughts (Chen and Ullman 2010; Haskell and Randall 2019; Karakurt et al. 2014). The SSPPS included questions about the emotional impacts and consequences that were a result of their lifetime experiences of intimate partner violence, as well as questions specifically about the violence they experienced in the past 12 months.

Approximately half (49%) of young women aged 15 to 24 who had experienced IPV at some point since age 15 said that they felt anxious or on edge because of an intimate partner, while four in ten (42%) said that they had felt controlled or trapped by the abusive partner. Almost one in three (29%) young women who had experienced IPV said that they had feared a partner at some point since age 15.

Overall, regardless of age, the vast majority of women who were victims of IPV said that the violence had some type of an emotional impact on them, with young women most often reporting that they felt upset, confused or frustrated (60%), hurt or disappointed (57%), angry (48%) and annoyed (44%). Victims who experience physical and/or psychological trauma can develop post-traumatic stress disorder^Note  (PTSD) which is characterized by feelings of detachment, nightmares and avoidance behaviours.^Note  Research has suggested that victims of intimate partner violence are often diagnosed with PTSD (Dutton et al. 2006; Karakurt et al. 2014). According to the SSPPS, just over one in ten (12%) young women reported symptoms consistent with PTSD (Chart 2).

Chart 2 start

Chart 2 end

Few young victims of IPV use or contact victim services

Research has consistently shown that most victims of abuse do not use or contact victim services (Conroy and Cotter 2017; Cotter and Savage 2019; Perreault 2020a), and this is also the case for the large majority of IPV victims. There are many factors that may influence a victim’s decision to seek help, including the severity and frequency of abuse, injury, fear of reprisal, availability and accessibility of help, and economic circumstances (Cheng and Lo 2019; Hyman et al. 2006).

Consistent with previous findings, the vast majority (91%) of young women who had experienced some form of IPV in the past 12 months had not used or contacted a formal service (Chart 2). The most common reason given by young victims was that they did not want or need help (65%). The proportion of women aged 25 years and older who had not used or contacted a formal service was not statistically different to that of young women (86%). Speaking with someone—such as a friend, a family member or a co-worker—about the victimization was much more common, with eight in ten (82%) young women and almost two-thirds (66%) of women aged 25 years and older reporting that they had spoken with someone (Chart 2).

Young women more likely than women aged 25 years and older to separate from their partner as a result of the violence

According to the SSPPS, young women were twice as likely as women aged 25 years and older to say that they had separated from the perpetrator because of the violence (29% and 14%, respectively). The decision to leave an abusive partner is complex, and can be impacted by individual, familial and sociocultural factors. A victim of intimate partner violence may choose to stay in an abusive relationship for a variety of reasons, including a fear of retaliation, a lack of social support, financial dependency, the fear of not being believed, and concern for their children (World Health Organization 2012). Those who are younger may have fewer ties to an abusive partner as they are less likely to be tied to a partner through having children together or owning property together (Eckstein 2011), or may be less likely to have been isolated from friends and family. In the SSPPS, 3% of young women aged 15 to 24 reported having one or more children living in their household at the time of the survey, compared to 44% of women aged 25 years and older.

Start of text box 2

End of text box 2

Detailed data tables

Table 1 Intimate partner violence since age 15 and in the past 12 months, by type of intimate partner violence and age group, Canada, 2018

Table 2 Intimate partner violence among women, since age 15 and in the past 12 months, by age group, Canada, 2018

Table 3 Intimate partner violence among women, since age 15 and in the past 12 months, by selected characteristics of victim and age group, Canada, 2018

Table 4 Physical and sexual assault committed by intimate partners and non-intimate partners since age 15, by age group, Canada, 2018

Table 5 Physical and sexual assault committed by intimate partners and non-intimate partners in the past 12 months, by age group, Canada, 2018

Table 6 Physical and sexual assault committed by intimate partners and non-intimate partners since age 15, by age group, by region, 2018

Survey description

In 2018, Statistics Canada conducted the first cycle of the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS). The purpose of the survey is to collect information on Canadians’ experiences in public, at work, online, and in their intimate partner relationships.

The target population for the SSPPS is the Canadian population aged 15 and older, living in the provinces and territories. Canadians residing in institutions are not included. Once a household was contacted, an individual 15 years or older was randomly selected to respond to the survey.

In the provinces, data collection took place from April to December 2018 inclusively. Responses were obtained by self-administered online questionnaire or by interviewer-administered telephone questionnaire. Respondents were able to respond in the official language of their choice. The sample size for the 10 provinces was 43,296 respondents. The response rate in the provinces was 43.1%.

In the territories, data collection took place from July to December 2018 inclusively. Responses were obtained by self-administered online questionnaire or by interviewer-administered in-person questionnaire. Respondents were able to respond in the official language of their choice. The sample size for the 3 territories was 2,597 respondents. The response rate in the territories was 73.2%.

Non-respondents included people who refused to participate, could not be reached, or could not speak English or French. According to the 2016 Census of Population, 7% of the visible minority population could not speak either English or French, compared to 0.5% of the non-visible minority population. Respondents in the sample were weighted so that their responses represent the non-institutionalized Canadian population aged 15 and older.

Data limitations

As with any household survey, there are some data limitations. The results are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling errors. Somewhat different results might have been obtained if the entire population had been surveyed.

For the quality of estimates, the lower and upper bounds of the confidence intervals are presented. Confidence intervals should be interpreted as follows: If the survey were repeated many times, then 95% of the time (or 19 times out of 20), the confidence interval would cover the true population value.

References

Burczycka, M. and S. Conroy. 2017. “Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile, 2015.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Burczycka, M. 2016. “Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile, 2014.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Burczycka, M. 2019. “Police-reported intimate partner violence in Canada, 2018.” In Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile, 2018. Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Burczycka, M. 2020. “Students’ experiences of unwanted sexualized behaviours and sexual assault at postsecondary schools in the Canadian provinces, 2019.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Chen, Y. and S. E. Ullman. 2010. “Women’s reporting of sexual and physical assaults to police in the National Violence Against Women Survey.” Violence Against Women. Vol. 16, no. 3. p. 262-279.

Cheng, T. and Lo, C.C. 2019. “Physical intimate partner violence: factors related to women’s contact with police.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies. Vol. 50, no. 3. p. 229-241.

Coker, A.L., Clear, E.R., Garcia, L.S., Asaolu, I.O., Cook-Craig, P.G., Brancato, C.J., Williams, C.M., Bush, H.M., and Fisher, B.S. 2014. “Dating violence victimization and perpetration rates among high school students.” Violence Against Women. Vol. 20, no. 10. p. 1220-1238.

Conroy, S. and Cotter, A. 2017. “Self-reported sexual assault in Canada, 2014.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Conroy, S. 2021. “Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile, 2019.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Cotter, A. and Savage, L. 2019. “Gender-based violence and inappropriate sexual behaviour in Canada, 2018: Initial findings from the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Cotter, A. 2021a. “Intimate partner violence in Canada, 2018.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Cotter, A. 2021b. “Intimate partner violence in Canada, 2018: Experiences of visible minority women.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Cui, M., Ueno, K., Gordon, M., and Fincham, F.D. 2013. “The continuation of intimate partner violence from adolescence to young adulthood.” Journal of Marriage and Family. Vol. 75. p. 300-313.

Decker, M.R., Peitzmeier, S., Olumide, A., Acharya, R., Ojengbede, O., Covarrubias, L., Gao, E., Cheng, Y., Delany-Moretlwe, S., and Brahmbhatt, H. 2014. “Prevalence and health impact of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence among female adolescents aged 15-19 years in vulnerable urban environments: A multi-country study.” Journal of Adolescent Health. Vol. 55. p. 58-67.

Dutton, M. A., Green, B., Kaltman, S., Roesch, D., Zeffiro, T. and Krause, E. 2006. “Intimate partner violence, PTSD, and adverse health outcomes.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Vol. 21, no. 7. p. 955-968.

Eckstein, J.J. 2011. “Reasons for staying in intimately violent relationships: Comparisons of men and women and messages communicated to self and others.” Journal of Family Violence. Vol. 26. p. 21-30.

Estefan, L. F., Coulter, M. L. and VandeWeerd, C. 2016. "Depression in women who have left violent relationships: The unique impact of frequent emotional abuse." Violence Against Women. Vol. 22, no. 11. p. 1397-1413.

Gage, A.J. 2016. “Exposure to spousal violence in the family, attitudes and dating violence perpetration among high school students in Port-au-Prince.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Vol. 31, no. 14. p. 2445-2474.

Haskell, L. and M. Randall. 2019. The Impact of Trauma on Adult Sexual Assault Victims. Department of Justice Canada.

Heidinger, L. 2021. “Intimate partner violence: Experiences of Indigenous women in Canada, 2018.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Hyman, I., Forte, T., Du Mont, J., Romans, S. and Cohen, M.M. 2006.“Help-seeking rates for intimate partner violence (IPV) among Canadian immigrant women.” Health Care for Women International. Vol. 27. p. 682-694.

Ibrahim, D. 2018. "Violent victimization, discrimination and perceptions of safety: An immigrant perspective, Canada, 2014." Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Jaffray, B. 2021a. “Intimate partner violence: Experiences of sexual minority women in Canada, 2018.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Jaffray, B. 2021b. “Intimate partner violence: Experiences of sexual minority men in Canada, 2018.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Jaffray, B. 2020. “Experiences of violent victimization and unwanted sexual behaviours among sexual minority and transgender Canadians, 2018.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Karakurt, G., Smith, D. and Whiting, J. 2014. “Impact of intimate partner violence on women’s mental health.” Journal of Family Violence. Vol. 29, no.7. p. 693-702.

Maxwell, A. 2020. “Experiences of unwanted sexualized and discriminatory behaviours and sexual assault among students at Canadian military colleges, 2019.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Parks, S. E., Kim, K. H., Day, N. L., Garza, M. A. and Larkby C. A. 2011. “Lifetime self-reported victimization among low-income, urban women: The relationship between childhood maltreatment and adult violent victimization.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Vol. 26, no. 6. p. 1111-1128.

Perreault, S. 2020a. “Gender-based violence: Unwanted sexual behaviours in Canada’s territories, 2018.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Perreault, S. 2020b. “Gender-based violence: Sexual and physical assault in Canada’s territories, 2018.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Perreault, S. 2015. “Criminal victimization in Canada, 2014.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Roy, J. and Marcellus, S. 2019. “Homicide in Canada, 2018.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Saint-Eloi Cadely, H., Pittman, J.F., Pettit, G.S., Lansford, J.E., Bates, J.E., Dodge, K.A., and Holtzworth-Munroe, A. 2020. “Predicting patterns of intimate partner violence perpetration from late adolescence to young adulthood.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Savage, L. 2021a. “Intimate partner violence: Experiences of women with disabilities in Canada, 2018.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Schultz, D.J. and Jaycox, L.H. 2008. “Fear in adolescent dating relationships.” Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma. Vol. 17, no. 2. p. 245-261.

Simpson, L. 2018. “Violent victimization and discrimination among visible minority populations, Canada, 2014.” Juristat. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

Sullivan, T. P., McPartland, T. S., Armeli, S., Jaquier, V. and Tennen, H. 2012. “Is it the exception or the rule? Daily co-occurrence of physical, sexual and psychological partner violence in a 90-day study of substance-using, community women.” Psychology of Violence. Vol. 2. p. 154-164.

Tillyer, M.S. 2012. “The relationship between childhood maltreatment and adolescent violent victimization.” Crime and Delinquency. Vol. 61, no. 7. p. 973-995.

Widom, C. S., Czaja, S. J. and M. A. Dutton. 2008. “Childhood victimization and lifetime revictimization.” Child Abuse & Neglect. Vol. 32. p. 785-796.

World Health Organization. 2012. “Understanding and addressing violence against women: Intimate partner violence.” (accessed February 24, 2021).