Navigating risk and protective factors for family violence during and after the COVID-19 ‘perfect storm’

Spiranovic, Caroline; Hudson, Nina; Winter, Romy; Stanford, Sonya; Norris, Kimberley; Bartkowiak-Théron, Isabelle; Cashman, Kate

doi:10.1080/10345329.2020.1849933

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…As part of the International Day of People with Disability, there was also a request to raise awareness around the plight of people with physical and visual disabilities (wheelchair and visibility cane emojis). Positive emotion was also represented by variations of different-colored heart emojis, as well as the clapping hands emoji, which symbolized both praise of a new $25 million United Nations emergency fund to tackle violence against women during the pandemic, as well as a celebration of the publication of a research paper that investigated risk and protective factors for family violence both during and after the COVID-19 lockdowns) [ 59 ]. While emojis were used across social media platforms (eg, tweets, blogs, forums, and other posts), which is to be expected, no emojis were found to be used within original news media articles.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Sentiment and Discourse on Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Analysis of Social Media Posts

Usher¹,

Durkin²,

Martin³

et al. 2021

J Med Internet Res

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Background Measuring public response during COVID-19 is an important way of ensuring the suitability and effectiveness of epidemic response efforts. An analysis of social media provides an approximation of public sentiment during an emergency like the current pandemic. The measures introduced across the globe to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus have led to the development of a situation labeled as a “perfect storm,” triggering a wave of domestic violence. As people use social media to communicate their experiences, analyzing public discourse and sentiment on social platforms offers a way to understand concerns and issues related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective This study was based on an analysis of public discourse and sentiment related to domestic violence during the stay-at-home periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia in 2020. It aimed to understand the more personal self-reported experiences, emotions, and reactions toward domestic violence that were not always classified or collected by official public bodies during the pandemic. Methods We searched social media and news posts in Australia using key terms related to domestic violence and COVID-19 during 2020 via digital analytics tools to determine sentiments related to domestic violence during this period. Results The study showed that the use of sentiment and discourse analysis to assess social media data is useful in measuring the public expression of feelings and sharing of resources in relation to the otherwise personal experience of domestic violence. There were a total of 63,800 posts across social media and news media. Within these posts, our analysis found that domestic violence was mentioned an average of 179 times a day. There were 30,100 tweets, 31,700 news reports, 1500 blog posts, 548 forum posts, and 7 comments (posted on news and blog websites). Negative or neutral sentiment centered on the sharp rise in domestic violence during different lockdown periods of the 2020 pandemic, and neutral and positive sentiments centered on praise for efforts that raised awareness of domestic violence as well as the positive actions of domestic violence charities and support groups in their campaigns. There were calls for a positive and proactive handling (rather than a mishandling) of the pandemic, and results indicated a high level of public discontent related to the rising rates of domestic violence and the lack of services during the pandemic. Conclusions This study provided a timely understanding of public sentiment related to domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdown periods in Australia using social media analysis. Social media represents an important avenue for the dissemination of information; posts can be widely dispersed and easily accessed by a range of different communities who are often difficult to reach. An improved understanding of these issues is important for future policy direction. Heightened awareness of this could help agencies tailor and target messaging to maximize impact.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Sentiment and Discourse on Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Analysis of Social Media Posts

Usher¹,

Durkin²,

Martin³

et al. 2021

J Med Internet Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The first seven questions (1-7) targeted the quantification of the severity of this phenomenon using case vignettes in which answers were evaluated using a four-point scale, using the following potential answers: it is not a case of domestic violence; it is a case of slight domestic violence; it is a case of moderate domestic violence; it is a case of severe domestic violence. The following 10 questions (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18) were dichotomous, with yes or no answers and targeted aspects concerning the importance of this phenomenon and the physician's role in the relationship with the patient who is also a DV victim. Finally, the last two questions were multiple-choice and evaluated the media coverage and the potential causes of this phenomenon.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The leading causes of domestic violence, after Worden, can be based on individual factors (substance abuse, history of violence in the family, adultery/jealousy, psychiatric pathology, dominant personality), family factors (communication problems, relationship problems, stress, coming from an abusive family), macro-factors (low economic status, problems in the workplace or lack of employment) and other factors, such as lack of education, social isolation, not respecting the norms of society [ 17 ]. Protection factors are the relational and social ones, represented by restrictive legislation, social/community support, resources, and services offered by specialized structures [ 18 ] to provide victims with increased self-esteem, social integration, or optimal access to medical care [ 19 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives and Values of Dental Medicine Students Regarding Domestic Violence

2021

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Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate dental medical students’ opinions concerning domestic violence from a social and medical standpoint and from the perspective of the moral values of the physician–patient relationship. Materials and Methods: We performed an observational study with 4- and 5-year dental medical students at the UMF “Carol Davila” in Bucharest from October 2020–May 2021, using a questionnaire containing 20 items on domestic violence (DV). The questionnaire was uploaded online on the e-learning platform where the students have access. To collect the data, we used Microsoft Excel 365, and the statistical analysis was performed using Jamovi. Results: Of the 600 students enrolled, 415 answered the questionnaire, the answering rate being 69.16%. A total of 215 (53.1%) personally knew victims of DV, 4 (1.0%) considered that violence within a couple is necessary for certain situations, 401 (99.0%) considered that domestic violence is a fundamental problem in today’s society, and 170 (41.5%) felt that in domestic violence situations, the blame lies solely with the partner who resorts to physical violence. Regarding the role of the physician, 220 (56%) considered that the physician should breach confidentiality and report cases when patients state they are a victim of DV, 337 (88.2%) thought that free medical treatment should be provided for DV victims who have a dire financial situation, and 212 (56.7%) considered that victims of DV are non-compliant patients. Conclusions: Domestic violence is a phenomenon well-known to stomatology students, which creates the premise of an excellent physician–patient relationship with them, aiding in proper management of ethical issues such as a potential need to breach confidentiality or evaluate the potential conflicts between autonomy and beneficence.

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“…Despite concerns of increasing prevalence during the pandemic and reports of increased calls to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, 27 women's self-reports decreased during this time, which may represent the lack of opportunity to contact support services for women confined with abusers. 20 Hence, while all service use data are likely to underestimate changes in prevalence, these provide means of understanding changes in the nature of abuse. Concerns have been raised about exposure of children and young people to domestic abuse within their households as a result of spending more time at home, while rising family conflict may also have given rise to increases in C/APV; in June 2020, 14% of frontline domestic abuse services reported an increase in C/APV abuse.…”

Section: What Is Already Known On This Topicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It also offers insights into impacts on exposed third parties, including children, by allowing exploration of whether numbers of children actively making police contact for episodes of domestic abuse increased during the pandemic compared with before and after lockdown periods. The pandemic and associated lockdown may have had significant implications for the nature of abuse, 20 and implications for family members, such as children, if exposed to abuse while spending more time at home and cut off from avenues of support during periods of school closure. Increases in family conflict may have given rise to other forms of domestic abuse, including violence by adolescent children toward their parents ('Child and Adolescent to Parent Violence' or C/APV), which commonly go unreported outside of lockdowns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Police referrals for domestic abuse before and during the first COVID-19 lockdown: An analysis of routine data from one specialist service in South Wales

Moore

Buckley

Howarth

et al. 2021

Journal of Public Health

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Background COVID-19 lockdown measures may have led to more, and increasingly severe, domestic abuse. This study examines police referrals to a specialist domestic abuse service in Wales, UK before and during the first lockdown. Methods Routine data relating to 2292 police referrals for female adult victim-survivors from December 2019 until July 2020 were analysed and presented in the form of descriptive statistics to monitor changes in referral rates and the profile of those referrals. Results There was little increase in the overall volume of police referrals during lockdown, but the proportion assessed as high risk increased, and children became the primary source of third-party referrals, with a higher proportion of reports made by other third parties as restrictions eased. Police reports for cases of Child/Adolescent to Parent Violence (C/APV) occurred almost exclusively during lockdown. Conclusions The increase in risk level despite less clear increase in volume may suggest unmet need, with victims less likely to seek help during lockdown other than for more severe instances. Increased reports by children suggest increased exposure of children to domestic abuse during school closure. Unmet need for women and children may have been made visible to services, and acquaintances, as measures began to ease.

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Navigating risk and protective factors for family violence during and after the COVID-19 ‘perfect storm’

Cited by 13 publications

References 33 publications

Public Sentiment and Discourse on Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Analysis of Social Media Posts

Public Sentiment and Discourse on Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Analysis of Social Media Posts

Perspectives and Values of Dental Medicine Students Regarding Domestic Violence

Police referrals for domestic abuse before and during the first COVID-19 lockdown: An analysis of routine data from one specialist service in South Wales

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