The Canadian's Government's Definition of Domestic Abuse

Physical abuse includes any intentional use of physical force that either injures or risks injuring someone. For example: Restraining, confining, held underwater, beating,slapping, shaking, pushing,choking, biting, pulling hair, burning, kicking, assault with a weapon etc.

Sexual abuse and exploitation:forcing a person to participate in any unwanted, unsafe or degrading sexual activity. It also includes using ridicule or other tactics to try to belittle, control or limit a person's sexuality or their reproductive choices.

    Sexual Assault:  A crime in Canada... for example:kissing, fondling, touching, oral sex or sexual intercourse without consent; continued sexual contact when asked to stop.

    Sexual Harassment: unwanted/unwelcome sexual behavior, actions or words. Many acts of sexual harassment aren't crimes but dealt with under labour or educational institution regulations.

  Sexual Exploitation: A crime in Canada i.e involving someone in prostitution or forcing them to participate in pornographic acts or performances for personal or commercial use

    Sexual Coercion: For example manipulating a persons situation unfairly to get sex. For Example:  lying to someone/threatening to tell lies about them that would damage their reputation. Exploiting/taking sexual advantage of someone, including victims who are younger or intoxicated

Psychological or emotional abuse:  For Example: using words/actions to control, isolate, intimidate or dehumanize someone; Any act or omission that reduces an individual's sense of self-worth; damages their psychological/emotional integrity;puts them at risk of behavioral, cognitive, emotional or mental disorders.

   Criminal Harassment:  A crime i.e stalking or repeatedly following someone from place to place,unwanted attention that causes a person to fear for their safety or the safety of someone known to them. 

Economic or financial abuse includes acting without consent in a way that financially benefits one person at the expense of another

Spiritual abuse: preventing a person from engaging in spiritual or religious practices; using a person's religious or spiritual beliefs to exploit, manipulate, dominate or control them; belittling someone's beliefs

Facts on Domestic Abuse in Canada

• On average, every 6 days a woman is killed by her intimate partner.
• 2009, 67 women murdered by a current or former spouse or boyfriend.
• On any given day  3,000+ women (along with their 2,500 children) are living in an emergency shelter to escape domestic abuse.
• Each year, 40,000+ arrests result from domestic abuse (12% of all Canadian crimes). Only 22% of all incidents are reported to the police, the real number is much higher.
• 2010, 582 known cases of missing/murdered Aboriginal women in Canada. 
• In 1 year in Canada, 427,000 women over the age of 15 reported they had been sexually assaulted. Only about 10% of sexual assaults are reported to the police, the actual number is much higher.
• 50%  of Women have experienced at least 1 incident of physical/sexual violence since the age of 16
• About 80% of sex trafficking victims in Canada are women/girls.
• 61% of Canadians say they personally know at least 1 woman whose been sexually/physically assaulted.
• More than 1 in 10 Canadian women say they've been stalked  in a way that made them fear for their life.
• Cost of violence against women in Canada for health care, criminal justice, social services, and lost wages and productivity has been calculated at $4.2 billion per year.