Longwoods Blog
A message from Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer
Families are the building blocks of our society and a safe haven to nurture children and our intimate relationships. Yet, some Canadians families are in crisis and the statistics are staggering. For many, this report may be difficult and disturbing to read.
In 2014, 131 Canadians died at the hands of a family member and there were 133,920 reported victims of dating or family violence, with the majority of victims being women. Just under 9 million Canadians have reported experiencing abuse before the age of 15 years.
Family violence impacts health beyond just immediate physical injury, and increases the risk for a number of conditions, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as high blood pressure, cancer and heart disease. Despite the work of many researchers, health care professionals, organizations and communities, we still do not have a good understanding of why family violence happens, nor do we know how best to intervene.
This report sheds light on a topic that can be hard to talk about. Family violence often remains hidden. Working together, we can unravel why, when, where, how, and to whom family violence happens and improve our efforts to support healthy Canadian families.
Dr. Gregory Taylor
Chief Public Health Officer of Canada
Click here to download the full PDF
This entry was posted on Friday, October 21st, 2016 at 9:53 am and is filed under Publisher's Page.