Violence against women is one of the main causes of homelessness and housing instability among women and children, and the lack of access to safe and affordable housing is one of the leading barriers for women fleeing violence.
This policy brief explores of the role of women’s safety in realizing the right to housing in Canada. In preparation for this policy brief, WomanACT coordinated a consultation process on Canada’s proposed human-rights-based approach to housing with stakeholders providing violence against women services in the city of Toronto.
We recommend that the government considers safety as a component of adequate housing, applies an intersectional, gender-based analysis and engages women with lived experience of violence. We also recommend that the government explores the housing rights and options of women when fleeing violence, including the right to remain in their own homes.
From a public-policy perspective, violence against women will not be solved through a single targeted policy on violence. Public policies shape and create social conditions. Policies can create social conditions that reinforce gender inequality and produce violence against women. Policies can also negatively impact women experiencing violence by limiting women’s access to determinants of safety such as housing and income security.
This literature review presents an overview of the impacts of selected federal and provincial policies on violence against women. The literature review finds that women are regularly required to prove or verify their abuse in order to obtain support or services; that policies do not always reflect the gendered experience of immigration, poverty and homelessness; and that policies often reproduce conditions of women’s economic insecurity and financial dependence.
Poverty and violence against women are interconnected. Poverty marginalizes women, increasing their risk of victimization. Women experiencing violence often experience financial harm, including loss of control over finances and/or limited ability to access employment. Without access to income, housing or employment, poverty can trap women in abusive relationships. Furthermore, financial hardship after leaving an abusive relationship is a near-universal experience for women.
This policy brief analyzes the impacts of the current Ontario social-assistance programs and makes recommendations to improve social-assistance programs to meet the needs of women across the province. In preparation for this policy brief, we held an open forum on Social Assistance Reform and Women in September 2018 in Toronto, which was attended by more than 40 agencies, advocates, researchers and women with lived experience of violence from across the city.
In 2016, the government of Canada started to pursue the development of a National Housing Strategy and welcomed feedback and input from community organizations across the country.
This report explores the importance of a National Housing Strategy that considers the experiences and needs of women experiencing violence. The report also makes clear recommendations for the strategy, with a focus on recognizing the importance of safe housing as a key component of adequate housing.
Despite limited research on financial abuse as a form of intimate partner violence, it is clear that financial abuse is a commonly used form of power and control over women and very often entangled in other forms of violence. It is also clear that it has devastating impacts on a woman’s ability to flee violence, be safe and establish financial independence.
This research report draws on qualitative data gathered through surveys and focus groups with service providers and in-depth interviews with survivors. The report examines the experiences and impacts of financial abuse as well as the challenges in confronting it and the opportunities to prevent and address it. The report includes key findings from the research in addition to policy, programs and practice recommendations to help better identify, prevent and respond to financial abuse.
Financial abuse involves behaviours that control a woman’s ability to gain and use economic resources, impacting their ability to be economically independent and self-sufficient.
This infographic looks at the different types of financial abuse including control, sabotage and exploitation.
The Canadian MARAC, Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference, project is coordinating a multi-agency response to high-risk domestic violence in three communities.
The Canadian MARAC is a multi-agency meeting that brings together community agencies to share information on high-risk domestic violence cases. Based on the risks and needs identified by the survivor and professionals around the table, a safety plan is developed for the survivor that includes actions by community agencies to increase the survivor’s safety.
The Canadian MARAC is an adaptation of the MARAC that was developed in Wales in 2003 and is now in place in more than 250 communities across the United Kingdom. The model has shown to reduce repeat victimization, increase survivor safety and connect survivors with the support and services they need.
WomanACT is leading the pilot implementation of the Canadian MARAC in communities across Ontario.
Related:
A Community Analysis of Risk Assessment Tools for MARAC
This project has been funded through Women and Gender Equality Canada
The Policies Matter tool shows common policy impacts experienced by women and the ways in which policies and policy areas intersect. The tool also demonstrates the barriers within programs and practices that women often face. The Policies Matter tool was initially developed as part of the Policies Matter Project between 2011 and 2013.
The Policies Matter Project was funded by Status of Women Canada and was carried out in partnership with The Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic and Elizabeth Fry Toronto. The project undertook a significant gender-based analysis of policy and the impact of policy intersections on women who experience violence. We work to keep this tool updated to demonstrate the impact of policies and intersecting policies on women as well as to support with policy advocacy. The tool is not exhaustive and does not purport to be a complete reflection of all experiences of policy impacts.