Women experiencing violent victimization often rely on social services that exist outside of the formal criminal justice system (Sinha 2013). In Canada, referrals to residential services and emergency shelters are among the most common referrals made by victim service providers (Allen 2014, Munch 2012). Using data from the 2014 Transition Home Survey, this Juristat bulletin presents the most up-to-date information on shelters for abused women in Canada.

The Transition Home Survey (THS) was developed under the federal government's Family Violence Initiative in consultation with provincial and territorial governments and transition home associations.

The information presented in this article refers to two distinct time periods. First, data pertaining to the characteristics of facilities, the number of annual admissions, and the types of services offered were collected in 2014 and are based upon a 12-month period that preceded the survey.

While the THS is designed to collect information pertaining to residential services for abused women, shelters responding to the survey may admit women for reasons other than abuse, such as protecting their children and housing issues. Additionally, although a minority of the facilities responding to the survey offer services to men as well as to women, the focus of this report is on the women seeking shelter for reasons of abuse.