‘You end up being in survival mode’: Saskatchewan continues to report highest rate of family violence in Canada

Saskatchewan continues to lead the country in intimate partner violence rates, with experts calling for more housing supports. Sierra D’Souza Butts reports.

High rates of family and intimate partner violence in Saskatchewan are persisting, with RCMP reporting nearly 10,000 victims last year alone. Experts say more housing is needed to support those fleeing from violent homes.

Brenda Ottenbreit, from Lashburn, said being exposed to family violence throughout her childhood played a role in the domestic violent relationships she experienced herself.

“I grew up in a household where I didn’t know what was happening and it was a generational thing. Many of us survivors grew up seeing what we then accepted,” Ottenbreit said.

Reflecting on her past, Ottenbreit noted that her relationship with the father of her first two children was detrimental to her self-esteem.

“I [asked myself] how could you have chosen somebody like that? How could you have put up with that? The behaviors were put on me and not the perpetrator,” she shared. “Then I met the father of my other children and he portrayed himself as my rescuer.”

Without grasping the pattern of intimate partner violence, Ottenbreit found herself in a similar position for the next 12 years of her life.

“When you live in a relationship like that you have no self-esteem. You lose who you are. You end up being in survival mode,” she said.

After building up the courage to leave her second marriage in 2014, Ottenbreit said she is still battling through family court trying to finalize the divorce.

Her perpetual experience of intimate partner violence has not only carried long-term consequences for herself, but to her four children as well.

“There’s the medical costs, there’s the financial costs, there’s the societal costs and the generational costs,” Ottenbreit said.

“This isn’t going away with me because my children have suffered. I’m showing them me trying to heal, but my children have to heal too.”

Sask. leads interpersonal violence rates nationally

In 2025, Saskatchewan RCMP responded to 9,899 victims of family and intimate partner violence. Although the total was slightly down from the previous year, 10,007 victims in 2024, rates still remain high in the province.

Saskatchewan’s north region accounts for over 50 per cent of victims, as referenced in the report. Experts say the reason is due to the communities being remote which creates additional barriers to accessing services.

“It can often be hours to connect to a service or support … There also is a layer of those communities being small,” explained Christa Baron, executive director for Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS).

“It can be challenging for individuals in those communities to work towards anonymity. It often means having a plan to leave which brings a fresh set of problems and concerns and challenges for that individual.”

Without support services in place, especially for victims home communities, makes it more difficult for women to leave their homes and seek help, she added.

Compared to the other provinces, Saskatchewan has the highest victim rate for intimate partner violence seeing 714 incidents per 100,000 residents according to Statistics Canada in 2024. Manitoba reported the second highest rate, with 607 per capita, while New Brunswick reported 444.

Local advocacy

SOFIA House, a Regina-based long-term housing shelter to support women and children to gain independence after fleeing violent homes, helps about 40 families on a monthly basis.

The length of stay for families who utilize the space varies between two months up to a few years. As a result, the centre deals with a consistent waitlist.

“It’s not due to a lack of desire to help these families. It’s due to a lack of resources,” executive director Lauren Dahnke told CTV News.

“Increased awareness, education and resources from all levels of government, opportunities to collaborate with other organizations, but also being able to look at other provinces and communities that seem to be doing something right.”

Dahnke stressed that without enough emergency shelters in place for people in need, the cycle of violence continues in addition to other social issues.

“When we’re talking about housing violence, we’re also talking about homelessness. We’re also talking about addictions, about food insecurity,” she explained.

“… Some of the biggest barriers is access to affordable housing. At SOFIA House our rates are significantly lower because housing is part of our program and it’s part of the services that we offer specifically to the demographic of individuals that we support. It’s a lack of affordable housing. It’s a lack of affordable living.”

Supports in Saskatchewan?

In a statement to CTV News, the Government of Saskatchewan said it is dedicated to supporting victims and survivors of violence through legislation along with funding and programming.

In November 2025, the province introduced The Cyberstalking and Coercive Control Act which recognizes “cyberstalking and online harassment, as well as coercive and controlling behaviour,” as a form of interpersonal violence.

“This change clearly defines cyberstalking and coercive control as a form of interpersonal violence and provides legislative support to victims when they are seeking help,” the Ministry of Justice said in a statement to CTV News.

In collaboration with community stakeholders and advocates, the province said it has developed three pillars for its focus on interpersonal violence and domestic violence strategies: prevention, intervention, and accountability.

“Saskatchewan annually invests over $70 million on programs, services and initiatives to address interpersonal violence and abuse,” the statement read.

“This funding directly supports interpersonal violence programs and services that help victims, broaden housing supports, raise awareness of human trafficking and improve access to legal and court-based resources.”

Some of the programs funded through the 2026-27 budget include:

• 211 Saskatchewan, a 24/7 province wide resource that helps people identify resources in their community;
• Ongoing partnerships with community service providers for Family Intervention Rapid Support Teams;
• Counselling services and supports for victims of sexual violence;
• Transportation services for women and children fleeing domestic violence; and
• Awareness campaigns to raise awareness help people recognize the signs of interpersonal violence and human trafficking.

The month of May has also been recognized as Sexual Violence Prevention Month in Saskatchewan.