Research Snapshot: Children’s Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence as Child Maltreatment

Highlights from a study about family violence and child welfare in Canada

Download Summary

Recent data show that the most common type of substantiated child maltreatment in Canada was children’s exposure to intimate partner violence.

In this study, researchers analyzed data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect to examine the observed increase in child welfare investigations in Canada from 2008 to 2019 and the responses by the child welfare system.

This research builds on our growing understanding of the Family Wellbeing component of the Vanier Institute’s Family Diversities and Wellbeing Framework.

Black, T., Fallon, B., Joh-Carnella, N., Houston, E., & Livingston, E. (2025, August). Children’s exposure to intimate partner violence as a form of child maltreatment in Canada: Analysis of the Canadian incidence study of reported child abuse and neglect (CIS). Children and Youth Services Review, 175, 108349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108349