Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers 33 A common definition of domestic and intimate partner violence (D/IPV) has been developed and is used by all police forces (both RCMP and municipal/regional) in New Brunswick. The definition is consistent with the description used by the Domestic Violence Court in Moncton, by prosecution services of the Office of the Attorney General, and New Brunswick’s Crime Prevention and Reduction Strategy: Domestic and intimate partner violence occurs when a person, regardless of their gender, uses abusive, threatening, harassing or violent behaviour as a means to psychologically, physically, sexually or financially coerce, dominate and control the other member of their intimate personal relationship. (Province of New Brunswick, 2012). This definition includes individuals who were previously or who are currently involved in an intimate/romantic relationship with each other (married, common-law, or dating), irrespective of whether this relationship was between samegender or different-gendered couples, and whether the couple cohabitated. D/IPV is also considered to have occurred when an individual or family member on the individual’s behalf, directly or indirectly, resorts to abusive, threatening, harassing or violent behaviour towards the partner’s or ex-partner’s children, relatives, friends, pets/farm animals, employers and work colleagues, or new partners, as a means to psychologically intimidate, dominate and control the current or ex-partner (Province of New Brunswick, 2009). The Criminal Code of Canada does not specifically outline offences related to D/IPV; however, there are relevant criminal offences that apply (Department of Justice, Canada, 2017) including: murder, manslaughter, assault, assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm, sexual assault, uttering threats, sexual harassment, stalking, intimidation, mischief, destruction of property, theft, and fraud. While we do not know the full extent of D/IPV in New Brunswick, statistics show that a Canadian woman is killed every six days by her intimate partner; and in New Brunswick, more people are killed by their intimate partners than in any other Atlantic province (Government of New Brunswick, 2018) . Despite the high level of D/IPV crimes that occur, it remains one of the most under-reported types of crime in Canada. Notably, statistics on immigrant women experiencing domestic violence are not consistently collected in New Brunswick and reporting rates are unreliable given the additional barriers faced by immigrant women discussed further throughout the document. LIST OF MYTHS AND FACTS Many myths are associated with D/IPV. Many of them are rooted in societal and media perceptions and do not paint an accurate picture of what the research on D/IPV tells us. The following is a list of some common myths and facts, as reported by the Purple Ribbon Campaign Violence Prevention Initiative ( Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, 2015) and the Department of Justice and Public Safety (Government of New Brunswick, 2018). • Abuse only happens to certain people: Abuse can impact anyone, not only certain families, ethnic or religious minorities, uneducated or lower-class individuals. It pervades all socioeconomic classes and all types of families. • Children are not affected by intimate partner violence: There can be serious negative outcomes when children are exposed to D/IPV and New Brunswick child protection recognizes this as a form of child abuse. Children may experience physical health problems, mental health problems or act more aggressively. • Domestic violence is usually an isolated incident: Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviour that exists in some relationships and gets worse and more frequent over time. WHAT IS DOMESTIC AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE? Image by Drazen Zigic on Freepik
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