The High Costs of Family Violence

Imagine…

that your friend just told you about the abuse she suffered at home and that it had gone on for years. Now that she is free of the abuser, she mentions how much she has had to pay to visit a therapist to help her get through the trauma and physical impacts the violence has left her with.

Knowing this, how would you answer the following questions?

  • What could you say to comfort her knowing she has this financial barrier?

  • Should the abuser help pay for the therapy she needs because of his abuse?

  • If so, how do you get him to pay?

  • Or, how do you get the abuser to even acknowledge the abuse? (Or even…can you?)

Victims Bear The Greatest Share Of The Costs

The cost of family, domestic, and intimate partner violence is staggering in more ways than one! Not only is it about dollar and cents, it’s also about costs that you can’t necessarily quantify. There are three costs associated with violence including direct, indirect, and a multiplier effect. They impact the economic, areas of psychology, and society overall. At the end of the day though, it is the direct VICTIM that bears the biggest share of any costs related to violence.

Direct Costs

Direct Costs (Tangible) – include the immediate consequences on the victims, perpetrators, and public systems including health, judicial, and public safety. Direct costs are more easily calculated as they are more quantified.

Examples:

  • Medical care costs (doctor visits, dentist, casts, hospital stays, medical equipment, etc.)

  • Mental health charges (psychologist/therapist visits, loss of income due to depression/anxiety, etc.)

  • Loss of life (funeral costs, burial, etc.)

  • Physical costs such as property damage (house, car, contents, etc.)

  • Home and school/education loss

  • Productivity costs (loss of reduced work hours/pay, etc.)

  • Costs to law enforcement

  • Cost to the judicial system (court fees, lawyer fees, etc.)

  • Probation/parole and court costs

  • Incardination costs

  • Security measures costs

  • Decreased property values

  • Sick/absent work leave

  • Employee turnover costs

  • Lost earnings

  • Forgone investments in human capital

  • Effects on personal income and investments

  • And more…

Indirect Costs

Indirect Costs (Intangible) – The ACTUAL human costs of violence include the aftereffects of being victimized for family members and the community at large. They cannot be measured in dollars and cents.

Examples:

  • Fear

  • Pain, and suffering

  • Mental and emotional trauma, PTSD, etc.

  • Lost quality of life

  • Lost productivity

  • Cost of time lost

  • Loss of freedom

  • Lost opportunities

  • Reduced quality of life

  • Replacement of lost/damaged property

  • Vicarious trauma

  • Compassion fatigue, etc.

Multiplier Effect

“A 'multiplier effect' is also included to represent the lost opportunity cost of violence. When peacefulness improves, money saved from containing violence can be redirected to more productive activities, yielding higher returns and increasing GDP.” (The Economic Value of Peace 2018, Institute for Economics & Peace)

Source: Criminal Justice, "The Costs of Domestic Violence"

Financial Impacts Of Domestic Violence On All Canadians

total economic impact of spousal violence in Canada in 2009

Including the impact borne by the justice system, the impact borne by primary victims, and the impact borne by third parties and others, the total economic impact of spousal violence in Canada in 2009 was estimated to be $7.4 billion. This amounted to $220 per Canadian. We could only find research in Canada on this topic for 2009 - you can only imagine how much higher this number is in 2021.

(Due to data unavailability and the limitations of existing data in many areas of research, the estimate of $7.4 billion is a conservative estimate).

 

Justice System

7.3% ($545.2 million) of the total economic impact

  • Police, court, prosecution, legal aid, and correctional services ($320.1 million)

  • Civil protection orders, divorce and separation, and the child protection system ($225.1 million)

 

Third-party costs

12.0% ($889.9 million) of the total costs

  • Social service operation costs ($410.6 million)

  • Losses to employers ($77.9 million)

  • The negative impact on children exposed to spousal violence ($235.2 million)

  • Other government expenditures ($116.3 million)

 

Victim costs

80.7% ($6.0 billion) of the total economic impact

  • Includes medical attention, lost wages, lost education, the value of stolen/damaged property, and pain and suffering

Source: Department of Justice Canada, "An Estimation of the Economic Impact of Spousal Violence in Canada, 2009"

How Can We Reduce These Costs?

Preventing family violence is one of the ways we can mitigate such high costs of family violence for future generations. As hard as that sounds to do, it’s worth it.

Take a workshop

The Today Centre offers a variety of workshops for service providers and community members to help them gain knowledge and skills to better recognize and respond to family violence. Participants are challenged to rethink common family violence myths and stereotypes that make it difficult for people to access services, and learn about local community services to help connect people in need.

Do some research

The Today Centre’s website has a resources page where you can find a plethora of information on family violence.

For more information on the financial costs of family violence, check out these resources:

Raise Awareness

When more people understand what family violence is and how to prevent it, the more likely it is for instances of family violence to decrease. Post and share information about family violence on your social media accounts to raise awareness with your inner circle. Follow The Today Centre on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for content on family violence and to keep the dialogue going.

Make a donation

The Today Centre’s vision is a healthy community safe and free of family violence. We help victims and survivors family violence by connecting them resources and support, building safety plans, and educating them on family violence dynamics. We help service providers and community members with our public education program’s workshops and by building awareness.

Donate to The Today Centre to make an impact for those experiencing family violence and to help raise more awareness about family violence in our community.

Family ViolenceCommunications Specialist