Violence against and the harassment of women in Canadian public housing: An exploratory study

No North American study has systematically examined the extent of various t ypes of woman abuse in public housing, including sexual and racial harassme nt. Public housing communities and inner-city ghetto streets are key arenas where gendered power relations are played out, and where the influx of dru gs has exacerbated the degradation and abuse of women. Using data from the Quality of Neighbourhood Life Survey, administered to households in six pub lic housing projects in an urban centre in Eastern Ontario, this paper help s fill a major research gap. Exploratory data on the incidence of intimate violence, stranger violence, and three types of harassment experienced by w omen in these dwellings are discussed.