Intersectionality refers to the "ways in which people’s lives are shaped by their multiple and overlapping identities and social locations, which, together, can produce a unique and distinct experience for that individual or group, for example, creating additional barriers or opportunities."
Context
We recognize that IPV is about power and control, and that women are disproportionately impacted by IPV because violence against women is rooted in gender inequality.
In addition, it is important to recognize that intimate partner violence impacts some groups of women differently. These groups include immigrant and refugee women, Indigenous women, low-income women, racialized women, women living in rural, remote, and/or isolated communities, women who identify as LGBTQ2S+, and women with physical and other disabilities.
These groups of women are at greater risk because of the way gender intersects with other social identities, inequalities, and power differentials, increasing the vulnerability of marginalized women to experiencing violence.
Resources
- What is intersectionality and how does it impact my work?Quick reference resource for service providers from Luke's Place
- Intersectionality wheel diagram [2014]This Learning Network diagram demonstrates the unique circumstances, aspects of identity, types of discrimination impacting identity, and larger forces and structures reinforcing exclusion. It an adaptation of a work by the CRIAW/ICREF
- Issue 15: Intersectionality [2015]Newsletter from the Learning Network dedicated to the topic of intersectionality and how it relates to gender-based violence
- Ideas for bringing intersectionality into practiceJob aid from the Learning Network with examples of questions service providers can ask
- Working with underserved or marginalized survivorsCollection of resources from Safe Housing Partnerships, the website for the Domestic Violence and Housing Technical Assistance Consortium
- Intersectional policies and service provision (for Indigenous, immigrant and refugee women, their families and communities)Resource from the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters' Inventory of Promising Practices
