The Daily. Friday, June 11, 1999

Shelters for abused women

On April 20, 1998, just over 6,100 women and children were living in 422 shelters that offered refuge from family violence, according to a snapshot survey taken as part of the 1997/98 Transition Home Survey. About 48% were women and 52% were children.

Eight out of 10 women and children in shelters had sought refuge to escape abuse such as psychological abuse, physical assault, threats and sexual assault. The remainder, who were not there for abuse reasons, were generally there because of housing problems.

On the day of the snapshot, 56% of all women in shelters who were escaping abusive situations were admitted with children. Of those abused women who had children, the majority (76%) took them to the shelter. About three-quarters of the children were under the age of 10.

Overall, in the 12 months between April 1, 1997, and March 31, 1998, a total of 90,792 women and children were admitted to 413 shelters that responded to the survey question. Of these, 47,962 were women and 42,830 were children (some of whom might have been accepted into the shelters more than once during the year).

In 1997/98, operating costs for 411 shelters were $170 million, most of which came from government funding.

The majority of abused women sought shelter from a spouse or partner

The snapshot portion of the Transition Home Survey provides an in-depth profile of the women who were in shelters to escape abuse on April 20, 1998.

The vast majority of these women, about 85%, were seeking shelter from someone with whom they had an intimate relationship. Just over one-third of these women (36%) were abused by their spouses, 32% by a common-law partner, 12% by a former spouse or partner, and about 5% by a current or ex-boyfriend.

Less than one-third of cases reported to the police

About 29% of these women had reported the most recent incident of abuse to police and in almost two-thirds of these cases, the police or the Crown laid charges. Restraining orders were obtained in over half (54%) of the cases reported to the police and in 86% of cases in which charges were laid.

Few young women in shelters

Few young women sought refuge at shelters. Women in the 25-34 age group were the most likely to use shelters, with a rate of 36.5 per 100,000 women (aged 15 and over) in the population. This compares with a rate of 22.4 for those aged 35-44, and 21.8 for women aged 15-24. Women who were 45 years of age and over had the lowest rate at 4.9 per 100,000 women.

Shelters offer an extensive variety of services

On April 20, 1998, there were 470 shelters for abused women across Canada. Of these, only 18 existed prior to 1975, while 57 began operations between 1975 and 1979. The largest growth occurred during the 1980s as the issues of violence against women and family violence gained attention at all levels of government.

Note to readers This report is based on a Juristat that contains the results of the 1997/98 Transition Home Survey. This survey collected information on residential facilities for abused women and their children during the previous 12 months. It also provided a one-day snapshot of the women and children residing in these shelters on April 20, 1998. The Transition Home Survey is a mail-out/mail-back census survey of all known residential facilities providing services to abused women and their children. Of the 470 residential facilities providing services to abused women and their children, 430 returned their questionnaires for a response rate of 91%. Readers should be cautioned that the number of responses to individual questions will vary. The Transition Home Survey was developed under the federal government's Family Violence Initiative in consultation with provincial/territorial governments and transition home associations. In 1991/1992, Statistics Canada began collecting basic information on transition home services and clientele. The survey was repeated with some changes in 1992/1993, 1994/1995 and 1997/1998. However, conclusions cannot be made about trends over time as the availability of shelters has increased considerably.

Almost two-thirds of shelters in 1998 were transition homes. The others included second-stage housing facilities, emergency shelters, women's emergency shelters, safe-home networks and, in Ontario, family resource centres.

In addition to providing refuge, the majority of shelters offered an extensive variety of services, which depend largely on available funding and the availability of services in the wider community.

Nine in 10 facilities provided in-house, individual short-term counselling to women residents. About 87% provided advocacy services, 82% parenting skills and 82% housing referral.

In-house services for child residents most often included indoor and outdoor recreation spaces (80%), individual counselling (75%), group counselling (53%) and programs for children who have witnessed or experienced abuse (53%).

Juristat: Canada's shelters for abused women, vol. 19, no. 6 (85-002-XPE, $10/$93; 85-002-XIE, $8/$70) is now available. See How to order publications.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Information and Client Services (613-951-9023 or 1-800-387-2231), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.

Rate of women admitted to shelters for reasons of abuse⁽¹⁾

April 20, 1998