Violence against brown and black women during the pandemic: a scoping review

Abstract

Objective: To map and summarize the main available evidence on intimate partner violence against brown and black women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a scoping review carried out in the National Library of Medicine, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, Excerpa Medica DataBASE, PsycINFO – APA PsycNET and Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences databases. Studies on interpersonal violence against brown and black women after the COVID-19 pandemic decree, perpetrated by an intimate partner, published from 2020 onwards in Portuguese, Spanish or English, were included. Editorials, response letters, retractions and studies focused on self-inflicted violence were excluded. Descriptive analysis was carried out. Results: A total of 26 studies were obtained, and after selection, a sample of eight articles was obtained, published between 2020 and 2022. The results showed mostly North American studies, however, they pointed to intimate partner violence against brown and black women as a global phenomenon during the pandemic. The victims presented multiple conditions of vulnerability and encountered several barriers to accessing health and public safety services, including racism. Prevention and control measures were scarce and had consequences for women’s overall health. Conclusion: The phenomenon was characterized as a global problem during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individual, collective and political coping strategies were created by the victims. Public policies to prevent and control intimate partner violence were not adequately implemented in many countries during the pandemic.