Women protest against the government and violence against women on March 9, 2014. (Reuters)
It used to be that women rarely talked about abuse publicly; it was a dark subject rarely discussed out in the open by Canadians.
News stories involving high-profile men, such as former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi, comedian Bill Cosby and NFL star Ray Rice, have gotten women talking openly about physical and sexual abuse. With the world marking International Women’s Day on Mar. 8, now is the time to keep the conversation going.
"It’s great that Canadians are starting to have an open dialogue about these issues, but we shouldn’t stop there," said Dr. Valerie Taylor, the psychiatrist-in-chief at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, in an interview with Yahoo Canada News.
“These cases have highlighted some of the flaws in our system,” said Dr. Taylor, who recently moderated a discussion on the complex issues surrounding violence against women. “We need to provide ways to help women navigate the justice system and mental health resources.”
A shocking 51 per cent of Canadian women experienced at least one incident of sexual or physical assault since the age of 16, according to a seminal Statistics Canada survey done in the 1990s. While the survey was unfortunately only done once, a more recent 2013 StatsCan report took a comprehensive look at statistical trends. The report highlighted the emotional impact of violence against women, noting that daily stress levels were elevated when women had reported being violently victimized in the preceding 12 months.
Dr. Taylor echoes the StatsCan findings, noting survivors can carry the emotional baggage of abuse for many years.
“The trauma really impacts their jobs, personal lives, school, relationships with their partners and children,” she says.
The psychiatrist calls for more funding to provide Canadian women the ongoing mental health support they need now and down the road.
Talking about this tough topic is a good first step, but Dr. Taylor and others aim to have this national conversation turn into real action to help support survivors of physical and sexual abuse in the long term.
