Many shelters for victims of abuse see increases in crisis calls and demand for external supports in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

In 2020/2021, there were 557 residential facilities (shelters) in Canada that were primarily mandated to serve victims of abuse. The unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was recounted across many facilities. Overall, about one in three (34%) facilities reported being impacted to a great extent by the pandemic, overall, while more than 4 in 10 (44%) facilities were impacted to a moderate extent.

Accommodation capacity was the greatest pandemic-related challenge faced by shelters, and with just under 47,000 admissions in the first year of the pandemic in 2020/2021, facilities saw a drop in admissions. However, many reported that the number of crisis calls and demand for support or services for victims outside their facilities had increased.

The pandemic has had a profound impact on the lives of many Canadians. In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, several public health directives were implemented at various stages. While these directives differed across regions and changed over time, they generally included quarantine-related measures and lockdowns that led to school and business closures and virtual work arrangements. Canadians spent more time at home and, with financial strains and increased isolation, concerns about domestic violence and barriers to accessing supports rose.

In Canada, 8% of Canadians who participated in a web panel survey conducted during the early months of the pandemic reported that they were very or extremely concerned about the possibility of violence in the home. However, compared with 2019, the number of victims of police-reported family violence was not notably different from the previous year, with a slight increase (+1.5%) in 2020. Reports from early stages of the pandemic found that the pandemic created additional barriers for victims of domestic violence. Specifically, there was a reluctance for victims to seek help due to fears of contracting the virus while doing so, confusion over the impact of business closures and distancing protocols on shelter accessibility, other challenges related to COVID-19 protocols, and a preoccupation with other stressors such job losses and school closures.

Today, results from the 2020/2021 cycle of the Survey of Residential Facilities for Victims of Abuse are being published in the Juristat article "Canadian residential facilities for victims of abuse, 2020/2021." The article includes information on how facilities were affected by the pandemic, the measures they took to minimize its impact on their clients, and the extent to which their ability to continue serving victims of abuse was interrupted. An overview of the characteristics of these shelters and their clientele on a snapshot date is also presented, along with the types of challenges they faced outside of pandemic-related issues. The survey snapshot date was April 14, 2021. It is a pre-determined business day meant to represent a typical day of operations for facilities across Canada.

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