Study finds risk of violence against Aboriginal women reduced by 40 per cent when socio-economic position is considered

18.9.13

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By Kendra Stephenson

If Aboriginal women had the same income and education levels as non-Aboriginal women, their risk of being abused by a partner could drop by 40 per cent, according to a new study by researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital.
The new study indicates that socio-economic position is a major factor influencing risks of abuse for Aboriginal women.
“The unfortunate reality is that Aboriginal women in Canada are almost four times more likely to experience gender violence, but we wanted to know why,” said Dr. Janet Smylie, a scientist at the hospital’s Centre for Research on Inner City Health and one of the study’s authors. “We wanted to unpack the disproportionate statistics of gender violence and intimate partner violence experienced by Aboriginal women and found that taking socio-economic status into account cut the risks almost by half.”


“The unfortunate reality is that Aboriginal women in Canada are almost four times more likely to experience gender violence, but we wanted to know why,” said Dr. Janet Smylie, a scientist at the hospital’s Centre for Research on Inner City Health and one of the study’s authors. “We wanted to unpack the disproportionate statistics of gender violence and intimate partner violence experienced by Aboriginal women and found that taking socio-economic status into account cut the risks almost by half.”