Wife Abuse in Canada: The Current State of Sociological Knowledge

Abstract

Wife abuse is endemic to many Canadian families. This article reviews the current Canadian sociological research on female victimization in marital relationships. The extant literature is categorized mainly under four headings: definitions, incidence, theories, and policy issues. The article concludes with a few brief suggestions for future research.

Business, victimisation and victimology

“…Indeed, analysis from the CVS suggests that even where businesses took steps to install burglar alarms, CCTV or employ security staff, this made little difference to their crime risk. In addition, in their definition of corporate crime, DeKerseredy and Hinch (1991: 100) state that ‘acts of omission, in which decision makers, etc. refuse to take action to reduce health and safety risks’ should be considered as corporate violence.…”

Intimate Partner Violence and Health

“…11,26 However, as with all population-based survey techniques, the use of standard random digit dialing excludes women without phones (e.g., the poor, homeless and institutionalized) and Aboriginal women living on reserves. 8,34 These women may be among the most vulnerable to IPV and yet their experiences are missing from the literature. Their exclusion appears to belie CPHA's recommendation for strengthening community action that ensures the full participation of women regardless of their socioeconomic status, gender, race, culture, age, or sexual orientation.…”

“…The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS), for example, has been criticized for its focus on physical rather than psychological abuse and for failing to measure forms of abuse such as burning, suffocation, squeezing, and sexual assault. 8,24 DeKeseredy argues that the CTS is a largely decontextualized tool, unable to explore the motives of violence, assemble information about the perpetrator, and detail the circumstances surrounding violent acts. 8 As a result, the scope of IPV is underestimated.…”

“…8,24 DeKeseredy argues that the CTS is a largely decontextualized tool, unable to explore the motives of violence, assemble information about the perpetrator, and detail the circumstances surrounding violent acts. 8 As a result, the scope of IPV is underestimated.…”

“…A search of the reference lists of these articles and health associations' guidelines, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] articles by Canadian violence researchers, [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] and consultation with the recent Canadian National Forum on Health, the joint Canada-USA Forum on Women's Health, and Statistics Canada's Family Violence Profiles' publication lists 15,16 identified another 7 articles. Handsearching of Canadian public health, medical, psychology, and sociology journals did not result in additional studies.…”