Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire
sur la violence familiale
et la violence faite aux femmes

The CRI-VIFF’s research, training and dissemination activities are based upon a definition of violence shared by all its members.

Violence is defined as the abusive use of power by which an individual in a position of force aims to control another person by using different strategies in order to maintain this person in a position of inferiority or to compel this person to adopt behaviours in accordance with the individual’s own desires. Because violence can be exerted in larger systems, this definition is not limited to individual conduct but also includes violence imposed by social and structural systems.