The risk of men’s and women’s intimate partner violence victimization across activity limitation types in Canada

Abstract

Despite the growing body of research on violence against persons with activity limitations (ALs), only a handful of studies of intimate partner violence (IPV) and ALs have included men in their analyses. This study used a nationally representative sample of 15,010 Canadians to examine the risk of IPV against men and women with and without ALs. Results showed that, with controls for age and education, men and women with any type of AL faced an elevated risk of IPV victimization. Adjusting for perpetrator-related risk factors fully accounted for the elevated risk for men with physical ALs and multiple ALs but not for men with nonphysically based ALs. Women in each AL type, on the other hand, had elevated odds of IPV after adjustments. A comparison of women with ALs to men with ALs showed that perpetrator-related risk factors accounted for women’s elevated risk for those with physical ALs and nonphysical ALs but not those with multiple ALs. Overall, although the risk of IPV is greater for women with ALs than for men with ALs, IPV is nevertheless a significant problem for men with ALs. Targeted interventions to prevent IPV for both genders are needed.