This book addresses gaps in research and studies into the high-risk nature of intimate partner violence in rural communities. It is an in-depth examination of IPV in rural Canada, specifically a theoretical treatment and empirical examination of the issue with practical implications for service providers and policy makers. Drawing from emotional geography, intersectionality, and social ecology, the project helps to understand how to increase safety for women in rural communities experiencing IPV, by foregrounding the role of geography. It is an empirical examination of IPV in rural communities based on in-depth qualitative interviews with two hard-to-reach populations: White and First Nations women who lived in rural communities in Ontario, Canada and experienced IPV, and service providers who worked in the same communities and supported women experiencing IPV. While this book is based on a Canadian example, these issues and themes engage with broader international literature, and will have resonance in other rural areas outside of the Canadian context, generating interest and debate more broadly among scholars interested in geography, gender, and crime.

Danielle Bader is a research associate at the Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence, University of Guelph, Canada. Her research interests include intimate partner violence, social and legal responses to violence against women, child maltreatment, and women’s health.