A Pandemic within a Pandemic — Intimate Partner Violence during Covid-19

Abstract

A s Covid-19 cases surged in the United States in March 2020, stay-at-home orders were put in place. Schools closed, and many workers were furloughed, laid off, or told to work from home. With personal movement limited and people confined to their homes, advocates expressed concern about a potential increase in intimate partner violence (IPV). Stay-at-home orders, intended to protect the public and prevent widespread infection, left many IPV victims trapped with their abusers. Domestic-violence hot-lines prepared for an increase in demand for services as states enforced these mandates, but many organizations experienced the opposite. In some regions, the number of calls dropped by more than 50%. 1 Experts in the field knew that rates of IPV had not decreased, but rather that victims were unable to safely connect with services. Though restrictions on movement have been lifted in most regions, the pandemic and its effects rage on, and there is widespread agreement that areas that have seen a drop in caseloads are likely to experience a second surge. This pandemic has reinforced important truths: inequi-ties related to social determinants of health are magnified during a crisis, and sheltering in place does not inflict equivalent hardship on all people. One in 4 women and one in 10 men experience IPV, and violence can take various forms: it can be physical, emotional, sexual, or psychological. 2 People of all races, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, socioeconomic classes , and religions experience IPV. However, such violence has a disproportionate effect on communities of color and other marginal-ized groups. Economic instability, unsafe housing, neighborhood violence , and lack of safe and stable child care and social support can worsen already tenuous situations.