Exacerbation of physical intimate partner violence during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global social and public health problem, but published literature regarding the exacerbation of physical IPV during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is lacking. Purpose: To assess the incidence, patterns, and severity of injuries in IPV victims during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared with the prior 3 years. Materials and Methods: The demographics, clinical presentation, injuries, and radiologic findings of patients reporting physical abuse arising from IPV during the statewide COVID-19 pandemic between March 11 and May 3, 2020, were compared with data from the same period for the past 3 years. Pearson x2 and Fisher exact tests were used for analysis. Results: A total of 26 victims of physical IPV from 2020 (mean age, 37 years 6 13 [standard deviation]; 25 women) were evaluated and compared with 42 victims of physical IPV (mean age, 41 years 6 15; 40 women) from 2017 to 2019. Although the overall number of patients who reported IPV decreased during the pandemic, the incidence of physical IPV was 1.8 times greater (95% CI: 1.1, 3.0; P = .01). The total number of deep injuries was 28 during 2020 versus 16 from 2017 to 2019; the number of deep injuries per victim was 1.1 during 2020 compared with 0.4 from 2017 to 2019 (P , .001). The incidence of high-risk abuse defined by mechanism was two times greater in 2020 (95% CI: 1.2, 4.7; P = .01). Patients who experienced IPV during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to be White; 17 (65%) victims in 2020 were White compared with 11 (26%) in the prior years (P = .007). Conclusion: There was a higher incidence and severity of physical intimate partner violence (IPV) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic compared with the prior 3 years. These results suggest that victims of IPV delayed reaching out to health care services until the late stages of the abuse cycle during the COVID-19 pandemic.