COVID-19 Isolation May Have Increased Domestic Violence

Research suggests that isolation due to COVID-19 lockdowns may have increased the incidence of domestic violence.

The CDC defines intimate partner violence as physical, emotional, psychological, or economic abuse and stalking or sexual harm by a current or former partner or spouse. Statistics show that 16% of homicides are committed by a partner and that 25 percent of women and 10 percent of men experience intimate partner violence once in their lifetime.

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‘COVID-19-related lockdowns may have created an ideal environment for increased domestic violence.’
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Data was collected from 347 respondents, with an average age of 47, for ten weeks, beginning in April 2020.

Participants of the study were asked to complete an online survey on their perceived stress, previous disaster experience, current situation (concerning COVID-19), intimate partner violence experience, and personal and household demographics. They were also questioned on how COVID-19 had affected them financially and otherwise.

The analysis showed that 39 participants (10%) reported having experienced violence in their relationship, 74% of which were women. They also reported more stress than those who had not experienced it. The results also show that participants were more likely to end up as victims of violence if perceived stress increased.

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The authors recommend that more services and communication are needed so that even front-line health and food bank workers can spot the signs and question clients about potential intimate partner violence. They could then help lead victims to appropriate resources, suggests Clare Cannon, lead author.

"The pandemic, like other kinds of disasters, exacerbates the social and livelihood stresses and circumstances that we know lead to intimate partner violence," says Cannon.

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She explains that an increase in social isolation has created an environment where victims and aggressors (or potential aggressors) in a relationship can't separate themselves easily from each other.

The extra stress can also cause mental health issues, thereby increasing perceived stress and reactions to stress through violence and other means, she adds. "Compounding these stressors, those fleeing abuse may not have a place to get away from abusive partners."

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Cannon cautions that the data does not suggest causality, and there is no way to determine if intimate partner violence was present in those relationships before the pandemic. However, the data does suggest that experiencing such violence is related to reporting more exposure to stress.

Findings also showed that tenuous financial situations due to COVID-19 create more things to worry about and subsequently argue about, which leads to an occasion for intimate partner violence in many instances. Cannon adds that similar findings linked financial and job loss stresses with increased intimate partner violence were reported in the 2008 recession.

Researchers state that the findings show a need for more communication resources for families and government and non-government sources of support and information like shelters, treatment intervention programs, and therapeutic professionals such as social workers, therapists, and others.

They advise increasing public awareness of resources so that friends, neighbors, and family members may connect domestic violence victims with these resources.

Source-Medindia