Domestic violence should not happen to anybody. Ever. But it does — and when it does there is help available.
Maybe you have lived or live with abuse. Maybe it happened just once. Maybe it happens on a regular basis. Maybe you work or live next to someone who is being abused. Just know that you do not have to be silent. There is help in your community and there are supports available that will walk with you throughout your journey.
About 99,000 Canadians were victims of family violence in 2010. Females accounted for 81 per cent of police-reported incidents.
In 2010, women were more vulnerable than men to intimate partner violence, with a rate of intimate partner violence nearly four times higher than that for men (574 per 100,000 versus 147 per 100,000). This elevated risk for women was the case for both spousal and dating partner relationships.
Alberta had the fourth highest rate in Canada with 13,010 victims of family violence. Six in 10 children and youth victims were assaulted by a parent.
Aboriginal women were three times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to report being a victim of spousal violence.
This article was submitted as part of a year-long campaign organized by the Vision for Non-Violence Sylvan Lake Chapter and Building Bridges sub-committee to raise awareness of the family violence and bullying that takes place in Sylvan Lake and area, and the resources available to help cope with them. For more information, visit the Vision for Non-Violence Sylvan Lake Chapter’s Facebook page.