Variations in Women’s Help Seeking in Response to Intimate Partner Violence: Findings From a Canadian Population-Based Study

Abstract

This study examined the role of sociodemographic factors and violence characteristics in influencing women's use of informal and formal supports in response to intimate partner violence (IPV) in a national survey of Canadian households. A subset of female respondents in the 1999 Canadian General Social Survey who experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual IPV by a male current or former intimate partner was used for this analysis. Findings suggest that although there are significant sociodemographic variations in women's help seeking, the largest independent predictor of women's use of supports is fear that one's life is in danger.