Intimate partner violence (IPV), also known as spousal or domestic violence, is a prevalent form of gender-based violence (GBV). It refers to multiple forms of harm caused by a current or former intimate partner or spouse.
SomeFacts:
- In Canada in 2019, of the 107,810 people aged 15 and over who experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) 79% were women.
- As in previous years, 2019 rates of IPV were more than 3.5 times higher among women than among men (536 versus 149 per 100,000 population)
- South Asian immigrant women are less likely to report domestic violence.
There are many barriers to reporting IPV or accessing services, including some that are of particular relevance for visible minority women, specifically those who are also immigrants. For example, discrimination and racism within the services or systems, geographic, social, or cultural isolation, language barriers or lack of culturally sensitive or appropriate services, fear of deportation due to precarious status, or cultural beliefs that support keeping the family together and keeping matters private have all been identified as barriers encountered by victims of IPV.

South Asian victims in particular face myriad issues when they choose to protest or walk out of their marriages; this includes inherent cultural biases to rationalize the abuse and financial dependence on the abuser, coupled with a lack of information about local resources and glaring gaps in the Canadian system, further frustrating victims. For single mothers without shelter and financial support, securing custody of their children becomes an added nerve-wracking challenge. Immigrants often refuse to exit the abuse because of the long wait time to get social housing and the lack of trust in other community-run shelters. Experts add that increased access to knowledge and resources is needed to change the narrative that normalizes domestic violence in South Asian communities and educating these women through a grass-root level community support system is the only means to fight intimate partner violence (IPV).

Our 2018 Charity of Choice-Harmony House is a second-stage transition home providing women and their children with a shelter that is safe, and secure, and provides an opportunity for them to heal and nurture in a culturally sensitive, linguistically accessible, and healing environment. Harmony House is one of the Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS) housing programs, a local community organization. Our 2018 fundraiser raised funds for PICS which directly benefitted in supplementing resources offered by Harmony House.