Too broke to leave: Alberta domestic abuse victims trapped by rising cost of living

The number of people seeking help from domestic violence at Alberta shelters has decreased in the past two years, but officials say that’s no reason to celebrate as a deeper dive into the data reveals many simply can’t afford to flee.

“The housing and affordability crisis is having a real impact on survivors and their ability to leave domestic violence situations,” said Cat Champagne, the executive director of the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS).

On Wednesday, the council released its 2024-26 impact report, summarizing domestic violence trends and activities at over 50 family violence shelters across Alberta, highlighting growing pressure on survivors and the shelters that support them.

The report shows the number of people accessing shelters has declined since 2023–24.

“In so many cases, the numbers are lower because it’s just too expensive for people to leave abusive relationships,” said Miranda Pilipchuk, manager of research and evaluation at ACWS and the report’s lead author.

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On average, it takes a woman seven attempts to leave an abusive relationship for good and the ACWS said the growing cost of starting over is making it increasingly difficult for survivors to find safety and remain safely housed.

“If you were to move into a new place, there’s a lot of costs that come along with that,” Champagne said.

“You’ve got rent, damage deposit, deposits on utilities, you’ve got to set up a whole household  — whether that’s clothing, furniture, all of those things — and a lot of those times, you’re doing it for yourself and your kids.”

People in unhealthy relationships can often experience several forms of abuse or control, including financial.

“We see so many women in shelter that have never even had access to a bank account, or their accounts have been kind of frozen or kept from them, or that their abuser has used finances as a tool, you know, some type of economic abuse or financial control that they can they can manipulate with,” Champagne said.

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Against that backdrop, the ACWS said many survivors may choose to stay in abusive situations rather than risk homelessness and food insecurity.

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Between 2025 and 2026, 82 per cent of calls requesting admission to a shelter did not result in an admission, according to The Cost of Leaving: The 2024–26 ACWS Shelter Impact Report.

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“That doesn’t necessarily mean that we are seeing a drop in domestic violence. It doesn’t mean that shelters have worked themselves out of a job,” Champagne said. “That’s what’s really concerning to us — where are women going and why are they not coming to shelters?”

Survivors are also staying in emergency and second-stage shelters longer, limiting the number of new people the facilities can support.

According to the report, the average length of stay in an emergency shelter has increased by roughly 50 per cent since 2019, while over the same period:

• Housing costs have risen 31 per cent
• Cost of food has risen by 36 per cent
• Gas prices have increased by 35 per cent
• Food bank visits in Alberta have increased by 134 per cent

The ACWS says more than 10,000 people in Edmonton and 7,500 people in Calgary are  on waitlists for affordable housing programs.

“We have a housing crisis. The housing continuum is broken,” Champagne said. “There is no safe and affordable housing for people to go to, so they’re staying in shelter longer — which of course means less people are able to access shelter.”

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The report also points to an increase in the severity of violence experienced by some survivors.

Between 2024 and 2025, 72 per cent reported experiencing increasing physical violence over the previous year.

“A woman’s possibility of being killed by her intimate partner — we’re seeing those numbers higher than we’ve seen since before the pandemic,” Champagne said.

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The ACWS is recommending measures aimed at making it easier for survivors to establish themselves safely after leaving an abusive situation, including priority access to housing, assistance with rent and damage deposits, and faster access to financial support.

Champagne says some supports already exist, including Alberta’s Escaping Abuse Benefit, but accessing them can involve barriers for survivors. She pointed to the province’s income support system as one example.

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Champagne said a shelter can work with a survivor to make a call for assistance, but if income support staff later call back and can’t reach the survivor, their file can be closed.

“The last thing any of the shelter providers around the province should have to worry about is reporting requirements, red tape issues that they’re having to go through when, at the end of the day, they just want to help pour into these survivors and ensure that they’re looked after,” Champagne said.

The council said it wants existing supports to be easier and faster for survivors to access, with fewer administrative hurdles.

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Champagne noted as they struggle to serve vulnerable residents, Alberta’s shelters also have one of the highest employee turnover rates in the province.

“It’s such heavy work and with lack of resources, lack of ability to pay people properly and train them, it does impact our ability to serve survivors,” Champagne said.

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The report found between 2024 and 2026, 11,332 adults and 6,277 children were admitted to ACWS member shelters. During that same timeframe, ACWS member shelters provided more than 35,000 referrals and 71,000 services to clients across all programs.