What Makes Women Vulnerable?
The health of women is determined primarily by the living conditions they experience. This is far more important than medical treatments or lifestyle choices. These conditions are known as the Social Determinants of Health: the social and economic factors that contribute to a woman’s ability to stay healthy.
The following is a descriptive summary of the many ways in which the Social Determinants of Health can affect women. These facts are based, in part, on research contained in Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts, which was published through York University School of Health Policy and Management
Visit http://www.thecanadianfacts.org for more information.
The following is a descriptive summary of the many ways in which the Social Determinants of Health can affect women. These facts are based, in part, on research contained in Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts, which was published through York University School of Health Policy and Management
Visit http://www.thecanadianfacts.org for more information.
Struggling to survive.
Growing up socially or economically disadvantaged limits a woman’s access to social supports and cultural and economic resources. Social marginalization is considered especially likely for the following: Aboriginal people, new Canadians, visible minorities and people with disabilities. Another group specifically identified is women...and when they are also members of the other demographic groups, a woman’s vulnerability to social marginalization is doubled.
Involvement in the sex trade, which often begins with a woman’s attempt to support her family, is one bleak example of how women become socially marginalized.
Lower education, higher unemployment, lower wages and less access to health and social services are common for people who have become economically or socially disadvantaged. The implications are dire: lower-income adults report worse health than those with higher incomes. They are more than three times as likely to report their health as fair or poor and 3–5 times more likely to report fair or poor mental health as those with higher incomes.
A low level of education can lead to inconsistent employment with little job security, low wages and poor working conditions. Canadian women are less likely than men to have a stable job and are more likely to be employed part time. A poor education can also lead to lack of confidence in learning and in advocating for oneself with social agencies and levels of
government.
Involvement in the sex trade, which often begins with a woman’s attempt to support her family, is one bleak example of how women become socially marginalized.
Lower education, higher unemployment, lower wages and less access to health and social services are common for people who have become economically or socially disadvantaged. The implications are dire: lower-income adults report worse health than those with higher incomes. They are more than three times as likely to report their health as fair or poor and 3–5 times more likely to report fair or poor mental health as those with higher incomes.
A low level of education can lead to inconsistent employment with little job security, low wages and poor working conditions. Canadian women are less likely than men to have a stable job and are more likely to be employed part time. A poor education can also lead to lack of confidence in learning and in advocating for oneself with social agencies and levels of
government.
Struggling to eat
Nine percent of Canadian households experience food insecurity—barriers to achieving an adequate diet, and a quarter of these are single-parent households led by mothers. Chronic disease, psychological damage, multiple chronic conditions, and major depression or distress is the result of not knowing when or how one will be able to eat.
The Daily Bread Food Bank reported that 83% of Durham users were under the age of 44. Of these, 35% were between 19 and 44--which are prime child-bearing years.
Often mothers will try to protect their children from the nutritional effects of food insecurity by depriving themselves of food. Low-income women were more likely than higher-income women to report having two or more chronic health conditions, inadequate fruit and vegetables in their diets, and be physically inactive. In addition to obesity and smoking, they were more than twice as likely as higher-income women to report having diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
The Daily Bread Food Bank reported that 83% of Durham users were under the age of 44. Of these, 35% were between 19 and 44--which are prime child-bearing years.
Often mothers will try to protect their children from the nutritional effects of food insecurity by depriving themselves of food. Low-income women were more likely than higher-income women to report having two or more chronic health conditions, inadequate fruit and vegetables in their diets, and be physically inactive. In addition to obesity and smoking, they were more than twice as likely as higher-income women to report having diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Poor Living conditions
Over the past 20 years, rents in Canada have risen well beyond the cost of living, especially in cities. Poverty, poor housing and pre-existing illnesses often go together. Poor living conditions can lead to mental health issues and unhealthy coping behaviours such as substance abuse.
Homelessness leads to a likelihood of early death that is 8-10 times greater than the general population. Among the many challenges faced by women who live without the safety of shelter, HIV is now the leading cause of death for homeless women in Ontario.
Ethnic heritage
Unequal or racist treatment due to one’s cultural ancestry is especially true of New Canadians, and Aboriginal, African, Caribbean or Black women.
Aboriginal Canadians have been greatly affected by the adverse effects of colonization, including the infamous residential schools of the last century. Aboriginal women earn 61% lower wages than other women. 26% of Aboriginal households live below the poverty level. Suicide rates 5 to 6 times higher, major depression, problems with alcohol, childhood sexual abuse, double the unemployment rate, lower levels of education, and four times the likelihood of food insecurity and crowded housing conditions are the norm compared to non-Aboriginal households.
Aboriginal Canadians have been greatly affected by the adverse effects of colonization, including the infamous residential schools of the last century. Aboriginal women earn 61% lower wages than other women. 26% of Aboriginal households live below the poverty level. Suicide rates 5 to 6 times higher, major depression, problems with alcohol, childhood sexual abuse, double the unemployment rate, lower levels of education, and four times the likelihood of food insecurity and crowded housing conditions are the norm compared to non-Aboriginal households.
Being born female can lead to a harsh future
Simply being born female can lead to discrimination or unequal treatment. Women are routinely devalued by society and sometimes by their own families. This often starts in childhood with negative or unstable family environments. The media’s portrayal of women often depicts them as objects…sexual or otherwise…and leads to their expectation of being treated this way.
In Canada, Women are routinely battered and abused; 50% of women over the age of 16 have experienced sexual violence, leading to low self esteem and emotional wounds. These in turn can lead to problems with addiction and sexually promiscuous behaviour as well as involvement in the sex trade. All these issues are connected to a vast array of health challenges and the liklehood of an earlier death than women who have not been abused.
Women are the caregivers of our world, looking after children and often elderly or infirm members of society at the same time. Getting to a health appointment can be an impossible task when a woman is burdened with others’ care in addition to her own. Their role as caregivers also compromises their ability to earn money to support their families.
Many women experience gender inequalities in their relationships: power imbalances which leave them unable to
advocate for themselves. Half the married women in our Region have experienced some form of abuse—whether emotional or physical. When they find the courage to leave, they can end up in single-parent households that struggle with a myriad of economic disadvantages. 85% of all single-parent households in Canada are led by women, and they were twice as likely to have lower incomes as those headed by men.
It’s no wonder that women are considered the stronger sex for their ability to endure.
