Domestic violence is described by Statistic Canada as a “range of abusive behaviors that occur within a relationship based on kinship, intimacy, dependency, or trust”. This definition includes many forms of violence, including physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, financial, or neglect (Statistics Canada, 2013). In 2014, there was a total of 759,665 victims of self-reported spousal or intimate partner violence. This number is significantly lower than reported in any other census, thus allowing me to form the assertion that while the number is decreasing, it is still prominent. Within this data, Quebec and Ontario had a higher amount of reported victims than in any other province and had been that way for the last five years thus allowing me to narrow my research on one of these two provinces.(Statistics Canada, 2014). In addition, there has been almost three times more female reported victims than male reported victims (Statistics Canada, 2014). Even though there are more reported female victims, it is imperative to not forget that there are male victims and these victims deserve recognition. Most individuals believe that it is inconceivable for a male to be abused by their partners, and this is where my research comes in.
