Intimate Partner Violence Victimization During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among a Global Online Sample of Sexual Minority Men

Abstract

Purpose We aimed to describe the prevalence of IPV victimization, changes of experiencing IPV victimization, and examined factors associated with more severe or frequent IPV victimization since the COVID-19 crisis among a global sample of sexual minority men (SMM). Methods Data were collected between October and November 2020 through a gay social networking (GSN) application. We used multinominal logistic regression to examine correlates of experiencing any IPV during the pandemic and experiencing more severe or frequent IPV since the pandemic began. Results Of all participants ( n = 9420), IPV victimization prevalence in the past 6 months was 17.0%, 19.5% of whom reported experiencing more severe or frequent IPV and 55.7% reported experiencing IPV that stayed the same since the COVID-19 started. Experiencing more severe or frequent IPV victimization since the pandemic began was associated with having engaged in sex work, having an income reduction by more than 20% and cutting meals since the COVID-19 crisis began. Increased tobacco use and psychological distress were also associated with increased IPV victimization. Lastly, SMM who reported having met a sexual partner through GSN apps were more likely to say that their experience of IPV had been more severe or frequently. Conclusion Our results demonstrate relatively high levels of reporting IPV victimization during the COVID-19 pandemic among a global sample of SMM. The findings illustrate an increasing need for IPV resources and programs as the pandemic continues to evolve. New technologies such as GSN apps have the potential to deliver confidential and safe IPV screening, services, and resources.

Violence Victimization, Homelessness, and Severe Mental Illness Among People Who Use Opioids in Three U.S. Cities

“…We found that participants who were homeless or housing insecure were more likely to experience recent violence victimization. This is in line with the existing literature where studies have reported the association between social and economic vulnerabilities and violence victimization ( Hong et al, 2022 ; Walters et al, 2021 ). For example, one study conducted in California also found that men who inject drugs reported being homeless were more likely to experience violent victimization ( Walters et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Similar conclusions are drawn in studies that examined depressive symptoms among women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization. Two systematic reviews of the literature found that there is robust evidence supporting the association between IPV victimization and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, self-harm, and sleep disorders ( Dillon et al, 2013 ; Lagdon et al, 2014 ) and others found such associations among sexual and gender minority population ( Finneran & Stephenson, 2013 ; Hong et al, 2022 ). Violence victimization experience is also frequent among PWUOs.…”

Risk and Protective Factors Associated With Intimate Partner Violence with Gay Men: A Scoping Review

“…Three studies showed racial and ethnic aspects as significant predictors of IPV (Hong et al, 2023; Metheney & Stephenson, 2020; Stults et al, 2021). A longitudinal study demonstrated that Hispanic/Latino participants were more likely to perpetrate IPV compared to Black and White participants (Stults et al, 2021).…”

“…Among the analyzed studies, seven of them showed sexual risk behavior as one of the main risk factors for IPV (victimization and/or perpetration) among gay men, whether through multiple partners (Duncan et al 2018; Elísio et al, 2018), or because of the presence of multiple regular and casual partners, along with inconsistent condom use with regular and casual partners (Zhu et al, 2021), or because of group sex throughout life (Miltz et al, 2019), or through involvement with more sexual partners and a homosexual support agency (Wei et al, 2020), through drug use during sex (Wei et al, 2021), or through sex work and use of a digital app to find sexual partners (Hong et al, 2023).…”

“…Some articles also presented data on controlling behavior which presented a rate between 6.8% and 80.5%. Also noteworthy was the high prevalence of IPV victimization and the worsening of the type of violence (physical, sexual, and emotional) since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic (Hong et al, 2023).…”