Intimate Partner Violence During COVID-19 Restrictions: A Study of 30 Countries From the I-SHARE Consortium

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) causes substantial physical and psychological trauma. Restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including lockdowns and movement restrictions, may exacerbate IPV risk and reduce access to IPV support services. This cross-sectional study examines IPV during COVID-19 restrictions in 30 countries from the International Sexual HeAlth and REproductive Health (I-SHARE) study conducted from July 20th, 2020, to February, 15th, 2021. IPV was a primary outcome measure adapted from a World Health Organization multicountry survey. Mixed-effects modeling was used to determine IPV correlates among participants stratified by cohabitation status. The sample included 23,067 participants from 30 countries. A total of 1,070/15,336 (7.0%) participants stated that they experienced IPV during COVID-19 restrictions. A total of 1,486/15,336 (9.2%) participants stated that they had experienced either physical or sexual partner violence before the restrictions, which then decreased to 1,070 (7.0%) after the restrictions. In general, identifying as a sexual minority and experiencing greater economic vulnerability were associated with higher odds of experiencing IPV during COVID-19 restrictions, which were accentuated among participants who were living with their partners. Greater stringency of COVID-19 restrictions and living in urban or semi-urban areas were associated with lower odds of experiencing IPV in some settings. The I-SHARE data suggest a substantial burden of IPV during COVID-19 restrictions. However, the restrictions were correlated with reduced IPV in some settings. There is a need for investing in specific support systems for survivors of IPV during the implementation of restrictions designed to contain infectious disease outbreaks.

Intimate partner violence against married women of reproductive age in Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In contrast, we observed a slight decrease in the reported prevalence of physical violence (21%) in our study compared to the 2016 NDHS (23%) [ 11 ]. This data is similar to that of a study conducted by the I-SHARE Consortium in 30 countries which reported a decrease in the prevalence of physical violence from 6.3%, before the implementation of COVID-19 restrictions, to 5.0% during the period of restrictions [ 36 ]. This decrease might be attributed to women developing strategies for mitigation, such as submission and conflict avoidance, due to their constant contact with their aggressors.…”

Excess suicides in Brazil during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic: Gender, regional and age group inequalities

“…It is very likely that women have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic, owing to the double burden of job responsibilities and domestic duties, which encompass tending to their own and their children's health, home schooling their children, stress from food insecurity, the lethal and non-lethal consequences of COVID-19 or even the premature death of a spouse or close relative, especially if this person was an important source of household income (Camarano, 2020;King et al, 2023;Milner et al, 2014;Racine et al, 2021;Santos et al, 2022;Strohmeier & Branje, 2023). One last explanatory hypothesis would be the increase in domestic violence or abuse against women prior to and during pandemic restrictions, since these kinds of victimizations can be exacerbated during crises like outbreaks and natural disasters (Campbell et al, 2023;Kim & Royle, 2023;Kitulwatte et al, 2023;Morgan et al, 2022;Nesset et al, 2021), further increasing women's vulnerability to suicide (MacIsaac et al, 2017).…”

Different Components of Sexual Narcissism Are Differentially Associated With Specific Sexual Aggression Strategies: An Exploratory Study Among Male and Female College Students

“…For instance, in a recent study conducted in the UK, 11.4% of participants self-reported sexual aggression (Hales & Gannon, 2022 ). Understanding and identifying risk factors for sexual aggression is crucial (Campbell et al., 2023 ; Erausquin et al., 2022 ) and will facilitate the development of interventions aimed at addressing and mitigating those specific risk factors. Notably, there may be different risk factors for different types of sexually aggressive strategies.…”