4. Module Two:
Effects of Intimate Partner Violence
against Women on Society,
The Community, The Family, and
The Individual Woman
This is Module 2 of a three part online learning course
designed for personnel who work in community social
service agencies, health and medical services, government
public services, and charitable agencies.
Women who have experienced gender based
violence may need to access these services.
5. Learning Objectives for Module 2:
• To understand the extensive and complex nature
of gender based violence on the societal,
community, and personal level
• To recognize how gender based violence can
cause loss of productivity and effect economic
contribution to the community
• To recognize how intimate partner violence
drains resources in the legal, law enforcement ,
health care, and social services systems
• To understand the enduring impacts of violence
on a women’s physical and emotional well being
6. Please note that the information contained
in this module reflects a careful literature
review, as well as information obtained
from women in a focus group, individual
interviews, and surveys. No identifying
information is contained in this material.
A further important note is that every
woman’s experience is unique; therefore,
we want to stress that not every woman
will have the same reactions or impacts of
Intimate Partner Violence, “IPV”
7. The Impact of Intimate Partner
Violence on Society
• Economic costs of IPV
• Effects on Canada’s Legal/Justice Systems
• Effects on Canada’s Health-Care System
• Effects on Youth
• Effects on Culture
8. What is Intimate Partner Violence?
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a
serious, preventable public health problem
that affects millions of North Americans.
The term "intimate partner violence"
describes physical, sexual, or psychological
harm by a current or former partner or
spouse.
9. Economic Impact of IPV:
The total economic impact of spousal
violence in Canada in 2009 was estimated
at $7.4 Billion. This is considered a
conservative estimate.
$7.4 BILLION
10. Economic Breakdown
Victim Costs
Economic
Costs of
IPV
Healthcare
System
Social
Services
Justice
System
Employer
Costs
11. Cost to Society
• The cost of IPV goes beyond just a monetary
figure although this is significant. This is not just a
‘feminist problem’, the cost of IPV is something
that we all need to be aware of as it negatively
affects us all.
• As listed in the previous slide these costs come
from the Justice System, Health-Care System,
Social Services, Mental Health Services, and loss
of involvement in societies’ economic systems.
12. Justice System
• The estimated costs of IPV on the Canadian Justice
system is half a billion dollars a year
• This includes criminal charges, court costs, civil
cases, child custody hearings, and the cost of RCMP
responding to, and investigating cases of IPV.
• Currently the province only spends $70 million a
year on anti violence measures such as court
reforms and Police Domestic Violence Units.
13. Justice Moving Forward
• At a time when domestic violence is a major
concern in BC, some domestic violence units in
police forces in cities such as Victoria are being
reduced due to cost cutting. This can put
additional pressure on local social services, and
community programs.
• Earlier this year the BC government was called
upon to create dedicated domestic violence
courts. In the long run this may decrease the cost
and burdens of IPV on our Justice System.
14. Health Care System
The estimated $7.4 billion spent on IPV in Canada
mentioned earlier seems low, particularly when
the Federal Health Minister has stated that IPV cost
the Canadian Health Care Sector nearly $6 billion
dollars alone
A major portion of
health care costs, both
emergency and long term
physical and mental
health care, are still bourn
by the victims of IPV
15. Medical professions can and do play a
vital role in helping victims of IPV,
they assist by “recognizing the signs,
reporting violence, and ensuring
patients get the physical and mental
support that they need”
Federal Minister of Health
16. IPV and its effect on Youth and Culture
• In recent years there has been an increase in
intimate partner violence in teenage
relationships.
• Studies also show that internet pornography,
and the ease with which it can be accessed by
teenage boys, can decrease their sensitivity to
violence towards women, in effect they begin
to see this as a norm in relationships.
17. IPV Cost to Our Community
• IPV puts a drain on community resources such
as community based victim services, food
banks, and women’s services.
– There can be increased access to such services by
women experiencing IPV who otherwise would
not need to use such services.
– If they had the economic means to successfully
transition away from such a relationship, then it
would reduce the need for these services.
18. IPV Cost to Our Community
• Increased drug and alcohol use in
communities with high incidents of IPV.
– Many (but not all) perpetrators of IPV also abuse
drugs or alcohol
– Some victims of IPV also abuse drugs and alcohol
as a way to cope with the violence or manage the
pain.
19. IPV Cost to Our Community
• Missed Work days, the inability to take part in
our economic market, and lost educational
opportunities.
– These are all problems that may be faced by the
victims of IPV, and in turn may decrease the
overall productivity and health of the community
in which we live.
– Cost to employers and businesses is over
$70,000,000 in Canada a year.
– Productivity loses for victims of IPV are over
$50,000,000 a year
20. Social Determinants of Health
• The social determinants of health are the
economic and social conditions – and their
distribution among the population – that
influence individual and group differences in
health status.
• The primary factors that shape the health of
Canadians are not medical treatments or
lifestyle choices but rather the living
conditions they experience.
21. What Are The Social Determinants of Health
Social
determinants
of Health
Employment
and Working
Conditions
Availability of
social services
Income and
Wealth
Distribution
Quality of
Food and
Housing
Access to
Quality Health
Care
Ability to
Obtain Quality
Education
22.
23. IPV and its Effects on Those That
Experience It
• The effects of IPV on the women that
experience it can go far beyond the physical
and emotional scars left behind.
• IPV can affect a woman’s socio-economic
standing, her relationship with family and
friends, her mental and physical health, as
well as, her spiritual wellbeing.
24. IPV and its Effects on Those That
Experience It
• The long term effects of IPV on women can
include depression, stress, anxiety,
dependence on drugs and alcohol, long term
physical pain caused by injuries, and increased
continual fear for themselves and their
children.
25. The Impacts of IPV: Vicious Cycle
• The effects of IPV can play a significant role in all areas of life
and wellbeing. For example chronic pain may lead to
addiction, or an inability to work leading to economic
hardships. In fact the impacts of IPV are all connected.
Physical
Mental
Emotional
Economic
Social/Fam
ily
26. Physical Effects of IPV
• The physical effects of IPV go beyond the bruises and
broken bones that can result from physical violence.
• Living with the fear and stress of IPV can have a
severe impact a woman’s wellbeing:
• Chronic Fatigue/fibromyalgia
• Chronic pain
• Headaches/migraines
• Miscarriages
• Sleep disorders
• Weight gain/loss
• Health problems associated with drug/alcohol use
27. IPV and Mental and Emotional Health
• Exposure to IPV can have profound and long
lasting effects of the mental and emotional
health of those who experience it
• Abusive relationships can deprive
women of their personal voice,
their dignity, and their freedom
of choice.
28. • There is often a decline in self-confidence that
results from constant negative and distorted
messages, this leads to a loss in their sense of worth.
• The mental and emotional impacts can include:
- Complex PTSD
- feelings of confusion and hopelessness
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Suicidal thoughts
- Anger
- Increased risk of addictions
- Complications of pre existing mental illnesses
29. Mental Health and IPV
• If a woman is already living with a mental illness then
this can be used against her. For example: the abuser
can convince her that the violence is due to her own
sickness, or that it is, “all in her head.”
• Medication for mental illness can also be used to
manipulate those living with IPV: Maybe the abuser
insists that she take medication that will make her
more compliant, or he could withhold medication
from her in order to gain control over her health and
wellbeing.
30. One of the most disturbing facts regarding prolonged
IPV is that neurobiological studies have shown that
living with the prolonged stress and trauma of IPV can
cause changes in neural pathways and availability of
neurotransmitters in the brain.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depressive
Disorder, and Anxiety Disorders are just a few of the
mental illnesses that can develop
subsequent to the abuse.
31. It Can Make Her Feel Crazy
• A woman living with IPV may have experienced so
much emotional manipulation that she can have
trouble trusting her own thoughts and beliefs, her
own interpretation of events, her own memories.
• The abuser may have told her repeatedly that she
was wrong, at fault, and even crazy.
• He may have other family members convinced that
it is her fault, that she is the instigator, that she is to
blame.
32. It Can Make Her Feel Crazy
• The abuser may seem to be a well-liked,
rational person to others, with a public
persona quite different to the reality in
private.
• This can lead to blaming oneself or an inability
to “believe” what is happening when he acts
abusive toward her in private. How could this
guy whom other people like be so mean?
33. IPV and the Link to Substance Abuse:
Why its Worth Repeating
In some cases IPV can lead to drug and alcohol abuse. This can
be for several reasons.
• Chronic physical pain or mental illness can lead to
dependency or attempts to self medicate.
• Some women use drugs and alcohol as a way of coping with
their situation, in order to numb themselves.
• Some abusers keep their partners hooked on substances, in
order to maintain control, and in order to blame her for his
behavior after using.
• If she gets clean it can be perceived as threat to him; it can
make him look bad and threatens his sense of control.
34. The Socio-Economic Impacts of IPV
• The hallmarks of an abusive relationship are
maintaining power and control:
– One such tactic is isolation; a woman can
become isolated from family and friends and so
she loses her social support network.
– If a women is economically dependent on a
controlling partner leaving can and often does
force her into poverty.
35. Personal growth on-hold
• This means that many
women do not seek
education or satisfying
employment, or follow their
interests and dreams.
• They may not put a priority
on her own health.
• A woman may come to
believe she does not deserve
a better life.
36. The Socio-Economic Impacts of IPV
• Women who are subjected to IPV typically have a greater
number of lost workdays, lower productivity, and lower
income. Overall they also have reduced or lost education,
employment opportunities, social opportunities, and
political participation opportunities.
• You cannot put a price on the loss of women’s, and their
children’s, possibility! What might they have been able to
accomplish or contribute to society, not just in Canada,
but globally, if it were not for intimate partner violence?
37. The Socio-Economic Impacts of IPV
• The hallmarks of an abusive relationship are
maintaing power and control:
– One such tactic is isolation; a woman can become
isolated from family and friends and so she loses
her social support network.
– If a women is economically dependent on a
controlling partner leaving can and often does
force her into poverty.
38. The Personal Economic Cost of IPV
• Survivors of IPV, those who successfully escape the
violence often leave with literally nothing.
• This can mean a significant loss of assets, such the
home, furniture, personal property (including basics
such as clothing). They may be forced to start all over
again
• If they have joint bank accounts he may empty them
as punishment for leaving, like wise if they have joint
bills, if these are left unpaid it may damage her credit
rating and her ability to get utilities in future.
39. Please Consider These Questions:
Would You be willing to leave everything
behind to start over with nothing?
Now do you understand some of the reasons
why women may choose to stay OR why life
may not be immediately better for women
when they leave?
40. IPV is Not Limited by Socio-Economic
Levels
IPV is common throughout all levels of
society, whether rich or poor. It is often
easier to keep the violence hidden when a
person has a higher socio-economic
standing, but it happens nonetheless. There
is no evidence to support the idea that
uneducated or poor people are more likely
to abuse their wives or partners. However,
it may sometimes seems that way as those
victims that come from the lower socio-economic
levels of society are far more
likely to need to seek services and support
such as transition houses, and income
assistance.
41. Remember the
Overlapping Impacts of IPV
• When the accumulated effects of abuse combine,
then problems in all areas of life can become an
overwhelming downward experience.
• For example: Depression, and other mental health
challenges, can lead to a loss in the ability to
participate in the workforce, which leads to poverty.
And the loss of income is likely to feed the
depression.
• The ability to focus mentally can decline making
dealing with work, school, service agencies, and the
legal system more difficult potentially creating
frustration and a greater sense of hopelessness.
42. Effects of IPV on the Family
• IPV plays a significant role in the breakdown of family
and can have a lifelong effect on the women and
children who experience it.
• Gender based violence often leads to isolation of the
victims from their families and friends, this can be due
to the abuser preventing them from associating with
them as part of his control, the victim’s shame of the
situation, because the victim believes the abuser can
change and they resent family interference, or because
the abuse has led to a dependence on drugs and alcohol
on the part of the victim.
43. Effects of IPV on the Family
• Women fleeing IPV may have to cut ties with family
(Particularly the abusers family members) when they leave
the abuser. This can lead to separation between children and
their grandparents, and other extended family members.
• All of these factors can result in the woman having difficulty
interacting with both her children and extended family.
44. IPV and its Effect Upon Motherhood
• One of the roles a woman may find
significantly altered, or lost altogether, is her
role as mother.
– Abuse of a mother often presents disruption of
child-development, confusion, and insecurity for
her children.
– Women are sometimes distanced from their
children through limitations induced by poverty,
by legal conditions, by ill health due to abuse, and
other difficulties.
45. IPV and its Effect on Childhood
• Witnessing IPV can have a profound and potentially life-long
impression on children, this can impact them in
many aspects of their lives.
• Children who have been subjected to violence (they do
not have to actually witness the abuse) can also exhibit
continued negative effects, including learning delays and
interrupted brain development, difficulty in school,
isolation from peers, lack of empathy, destructive
behaviours, and a continuation of the cycle of violence
when they enter their own relationships. They are also at
increased risk of anxiety, depression, self harming, and
low self esteem.
46. IPV and its Effects on Childhood
Studies have shown that extended exposure to
domestic violence can actually alter brain
development and chemistry in children. In fact
children exposed to domestic violence can show the
same pattern of brain activity as combat soldiers. Long
term abuse may lead to their brains being hyper alert
in a constant state of “flight or fight”
47. Summary
Intimate partner violence is a problem that is
not isolated to the personal or family level. IPV
effects us all, it is impossible to know just how
much it costs us as a society. However, it is also
important to remember the individual in all of
this. Each family is unique and so when
providing services they need to be treated as an
individual and not a statistic.
48. Credits for this Project
Principle Author and Investigator: Georgette
Whitehead, MSW, RCC, RSW
Contributors & Reviewers:
Jodi Grundle, MSc, Contributor
Eileen Stearns, BSW, RSW, Contributor, researcher
Marnie MacLachlan, Reviewer
Graphic Facilitation Art by Jill Banting. MA
Informed by a focus group of experiential women
A full list of references is available on our website
