FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto, ON – July 23, 2024 – A new report released by the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR) finds that Ontario’s high housing costs are a significant barrier preventing survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and intimate partner violence (IPV) from finding a safe home, free from violence.
The report presents key findings from CCHR’s research study in five Ontario communities – Toronto, Ottawa, Peterborough, Thunder Bay and Lanark County. Through interviews with 28 service providers and a survey of 102 women and gender-diverse people who have experienced GBV and IPV (survivors), along with an analysis of local housing market conditions, the study fills a knowledge gap in understanding the relationship between GBV and housing insecurity in Ontario.
The study found that unaffordable housing costs in their community prevented 79 per cent of survivors from leaving the residence where they experienced violence. For those who sought a temporary safe place in an emergency shelter, 65 per cent experienced housing insecurity after leaving the shelter. Due to a lack of affordable housing, survivors are facing difficult housing choices, and 17 per cent of survivors surveyed had no other option but to return to live with their abuser.
“Sometimes it’s easier to stay in an abusive situation than to be on the streets. As long as it was just me suffering the abuse, I would rather that than my kids not have a warm bed and hot meal in their belly,” said one survivor.
The study also found that 42 per cent of survivors experience discrimination when searching for housing in the private market, particularly based on their race, Indigeneity, gender, sexual orientation, disability and receipt of social assistance. Due in part to this high degree of discrimination and a lack of affordable housing options, only 10 per cent of survivors who had accessed emergency shelters were able to find a home in the private rental housing market.
In addition, the study found that existing shelter, income and other community supports are not meeting the diverse needs of survivors, particularly for people with disabilities, gender-diverse people, Indigenous people, newcomers and people with children.
“We get people substance abuse help, we get them mental health help, we get them safety planning and we get them, you know, court support. But the reality is if they have nowhere to land to receive those services and actually process the service provision, it’s not helpful,” said one frontline worker.
To address these issues, the report outlines several urgent policy measures that the federal and provincial governments must take to improve the housing conditions of survivors of GBV and IPV. These include implementing affordability measures, addressing gaps in services and supports for people fleeing violence, addressing discrimination, and prioritizing those in greatest need, namely Indigenous and gender-diverse people.
“These findings are deeply alarming but are unfortunately not surprising given how challenging the housing situation has become in Ontario for so many people.” said CCHR Researcher Sophie O’Manique. “The intersection between the GBV epidemic and the housing crisis is putting so many survivors in an impossible situation where they must choose between remaining in an abusive household or being housed. We hope that this research can help to amplify the voices of survivors and others in the sector that are raising alarm bells to push for much needed change and informs policy solutions that our governments must implement with urgency.”
Quick facts:
- From 2023-2024, the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights carried out a research project to deepen an understanding of the relationship between GBV and housing insecurity in Ontario, and to understand how the housing affordability crisis in Ontario is impacting survivors’ housing experiences.
- CCHR conducted a literature review, a survey of survivors, interviews with service providers and an analysis of housing market conditions in each community under study.
- GBV and IPV are pervasive problems impacting millions of women and gender-diverse people across Canada.
- A 2018 study by Statistics Canada found that 44 per cent of Canadian women have experienced some form of IPV in their lifetime.
- A 2020 survey by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness found that 75 per cent of people experiencing homelessness or housing need identified themselves as survivors of GBV.
- Other studies show that certain groups of people experience higher degrees of GBV and IPV including Indigenous women, people with disabilities, newcomers, and gender-diverse people.
- This report uses the definitions of GBV and IPV developed by Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE):
- Gender-based violence (GBV): “Violence based on gender norms and unequal power dynamics, perpetrated against someone based on their gender, gender expression, gender identity, or perceived gender. It takes many forms, including physical, economic, sexual, as well as emotional (psychological) abuse.”
- Intimate partner and interpersonal violence (IPV): “Physical, sexual, emotional (psychological) or financial harm done by a current or former intimate partner(s) or spouse(s). Intimate partner violence can happen in a marriage, common-law or dating relationship; in a heterosexual or LGBTQ2 (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and Two-Spirit) relationship; at any time in a relationship, including after it has ended; and, whether or not partners live together or are sexually intimate with one another.”
Media contact:
Shelley Buckingham
Director of Communications, Canadian Centre for Housing Rights
Email: media [at] housingrightscanada.com
