Photo: The Canadian Press

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Gregory Taylor

Physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and murder — family violence is a pervasive but often hidden reality within Canadian society, says the country's top doctor, who calls the scope of the problem "staggering."

"This is a serious public health issue in Canada, one that can have long-lasting and widespread effects on the health of individuals, families and communities," said Dr. Gregory Taylor, who on Friday released a 60-page report focusing on family violence.

"The health impacts of family violence extend far beyond physical injuries and include poor mental health, psychological and emotional distress, suicide, and increased risk of chronic diseases and conditions such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes."

In 2014, the latest year for which statistics are available, almost 58,000 girls and women were victims of family violence, said Taylor, Canada's chief public health officer.

Every day, one woman in Canada was killed by a family member; every six days, a women was killed by an intimate partner; while a man was murdered by a partner every 23 days.

"There's no question that women bear the brunt of the most severe forms of family violence," he said. "But men and boys are certainly victims as well."

Some other findings in the report:

• Every day, about 230 Canadians reported being victims of family violence.
• Between 2004 and 2014, half of the child victims of family-related homicide were under age four.
• About 760,000 Canadians reported experiencing unhealthy spousal conflict, abuse or violence in the previous five years.
• Every day, eight seniors were subject to family violence. More than 766,000 Canadians over age 55 said they had experienced abuse or neglect in the previous year.

"When I started to research this report, I really had no idea how big the impact was," Taylor said in an interview Friday from Ottawa.

"The estimates are that fully 70 per cent of family violence is unreported, so we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg."