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The Contribution of Socio-economic Position to the Excesses of Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Among Aboriginal Versus Non-Aboriginal Women in Canada

  • Quantitative Research
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the contribution of socio-economic position (SEP) in explaining the excess of any abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV) among Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal women in Canada. This comparison has not been studied before.

METHODS: We conducted logistic regression analysis, using nationwide data from a weighted sample of 57,318 Canadian-born mothers of singletons who participated in the Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey 2006-7.

RESULTS: The unadjusted odds of any abuse and IPV were almost four times higher among Aboriginal compared to non-Aboriginal mothers; OR 3.91 (95% CI 3.12-4.89) and OR 3.78 (2.87-4.97), respectively. Adjustment for SEP reduced the unadjusted OR of any abuse and IPV by almost 40%. However, even with this adjustment, the odds of any abuse and IPV for Aboriginal mothers remained twice that of non-Aboriginal mothers; OR 2.34 (1.82-2.99) and OR 2.19 (1.60-3.00), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: SEP is a predominant contributor to the excess of abuse against Aboriginal vs. non-Aboriginal women in Canada. Reducing violence against Aboriginal women can be achieved mostly by improving their SEP, and simultaneously be informed by social processes and services that can mitigate abuse. The fact that SEP did not fully explain the excess of abuse among the Aboriginal women might lend support to “colonization or postcolonial theories,” and related contextual factors such as differences in community social resources (e.g., social capital) and services. The effect of these factors on the excess of abuse warrants future research.

Résumé

OBJECTIF: Examiner le rôle de la situation socioéconomique (SSE) pour expliquer le surcroît d’abus et de violence entre partenaires intimes (VPI) chez les femmes autochtones au Canada par rapport aux femmes non autochtones. Notre étude est la toute première à effectuer une telle comparaison.

MÉTHODE: Nous avons analysé par régression logistique des données pancanadiennes tirées d’un échantillon pondéré de 57 318 femmes nées au Canada ayant accouché d’un enfant unique et ayant participé à l’Enquête canadienne sur l’expérience de la maternité de 2006-2007.

RÉSULTATS: Les probabilités non ajustées d’abus et de VPI étaient près de quatre fois plus élevées chez les mères autochtones que chez les mères non autochtones: RC 3,91 (IC de 95 % 3,12–4,89) et RC 3,78 (2,87–4,97), respectivement. L’ajustement pour tenir compte de la SSE a réduit de près de 40 % le rapport de cotes non ajusté pour les cas d’abus et de VPI. Cependant, même avec cet ajustement, les probabilités d’abus et de VPI chez les mères autochtones demeurent deux fois plus élevées que chez les mères non autochtones: RC 2,34 (1,82-2,99) et RC 2,19 (1,60- 3,00), respectivement.

CONCLUSIONS: La SSE est l’un des principaux facteurs contribuant au surcroît d’abus chez les femmes autochtones au Canada par rapport aux femmes non autochtones. Réduire la violence envers les femmes autochtones pourrait se faire principalement en améliorant leur SSE, tout en informant ces femmes des processus et des services sociaux qui peuvent atténuer les abus. Le fait que la SSE n’explique pas entièrement le surcroît d’abus que vivent les femmes autochtones pourrait accréditer les « théories » coloniales ou postcoloniales et les facteurs contextuels connexes, comme les différences dans les services et les ressources sociales communautaires (p. ex., le capital social). L’effet de ces facteurs sur le surcroît d’abus mérite d’être étudié plus avant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael’s Hospital, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer Sheva, 84015, Israel

    Nihaya Daoud MPH, PhD, Janet Smylie MD, MPH, Marcelo Urquia MSc, PhD & Patricia O’Campo MPH, PhD

  2. Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, Canada

    Nihaya Daoud MPH, PhD

  3. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Janet Smylie MD, MPH & Patricia O’Campo MPH, PhD

  4. Native Women’s Association of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Billie Allan MSW

Authors
  1. Nihaya Daoud MPH, PhD
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  2. Janet Smylie MD, MPH
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  3. Marcelo Urquia MSc, PhD
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  4. Billie Allan MSW
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  5. Patricia O’Campo MPH, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nihaya Daoud MPH, PhD.

Additional information

Acknowledgements: The authors thank the Maternity Experiences Study Group of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System who developed and implemented the Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey; and the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) who reviewed the paper to ensure it benefitted from their wisdom and experience. Dr. Smylie is supported by a CIHR New Investigator award in Knowledge Translation.

Conflict of Interest: None to declare.

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Daoud, N., Smylie, J., Urquia, M. et al. The Contribution of Socio-economic Position to the Excesses of Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Among Aboriginal Versus Non-Aboriginal Women in Canada. Can J Public Health 104, e278–e283 (2013). https://doi.org/10.17269/cjph.104.3724

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.17269/cjph.104.3724

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