Les refuges pour femmes sont souvent le premier point de contact pour les victimes survivantes fuyant une relation conjugale violente. Par conséquent, la sécurité et l’hébergement de ces femmes sont des préoccupations immédiates pour les membres du personnel. Une fois la sécurité de la victime survivante assurée, il est important d’explorer les schémas de maltraitance qu’elle a subis.
Economic Abuse Screening Tool (EAST) can assist direct service providers in identifying and addressing instances of economic abuse experienced by clients and accessing related resources. Developed and tested in consultation with shelters across Canada, EAST can help to open up conversations about finances and increase the capacity of service providers to assess the scope and nature of economic abuse.
The Canadian Women’s Foundation interviewed 21 women who were charged with domestic violence over the previous three years. The majority of the women lived in Toronto, with a small number in the GTA and Haliburton. The participants varied in age and socioeconomic status, including women who spoke English, Spanish, and Tagalog. Ten community agency workers from the City of Toronto and York Region as well as the criminal justice system were interviewed. The goal was to better understand the circumstances surrounding these charges, pinpoint structural issues that increased the risk to survivors, and offer suggestions for preventing charges against women who are attempting to defend themselves against an abusive partner. Recommendations for various sectors are made based on the information gleaned from the interviews.