The domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: Scoping review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unexpected challenges in all sectors of life, from the social, economical to health sectors, particularly public health. One of the most worrying effects of COVID-19 is the increase in cases of domestic violence. AIM: This scoping review was to determine trends in domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies for handling it. METHODS: We searched for relevant articles on four databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, and EBSco) in English, published in 2019–2021. Of the 434 articles identified, six articles met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: There were six themes we got related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, namely: The number of cases of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic; risk factors for domestic violence; victims and perpetrators of domestic violence; types of domestic violence; the impact of domestic violence; and strategies for handling domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted domestic violence cases, where most victims were women, and most of them experienced recurrent domestic violence. Therefore, we recommend that future research be examined deeper into the understanding, experiences, and needs of victims and perpetrators of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the roles of cross-sectors and obstacles experienced in handling domestic violence in the future.