The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Intimate Partner Violence Advocates and Agencies

Abstract

Relatively few studies have considered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intimate partner violence (IPV) advocates or the agencies where they work. In this study, based on United States IPV advocates’ experiences working with survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted interviews to explore: 1) personal challenges and resilience working as IPV advocates during the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) how agencies adapted to the pandemic to support IPV survivors and advocates; and 3) specific needs and challenges of culturally-specific agencies. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 53 IPV advocates from June to November 2020. Participants were included if they worked directly with survivors, identified as an IPV advocate, worked at a US-based agency, and spoke and understood English. We created a sampling matrix to ensure adequate representation from IPV advocates serving survivors from communities which have been marginalized. Interviews were conducted through a virtual platform by a trained member of the research team. We used an inductive thematic analysis approach, with weekly coding meetings to resolve discrepancies in coding. Five themes emerged from the data: 1) IPV advocates described how working as an IPV advocate during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted them personally; 2) agencies developed new methods of addressing IPV advocates’ needs; 3) agencies developed new solutions to address pandemic-related client needs; 4) transitioning advocacy work to virtual formats created challenges but also opportunities and; 5) pandemic limitations and impacts compounded pre-pandemic challenges for culturally specific agencies. IPV advocates are frontline workers who have played essential roles in adjusting services to meet survivor needs during the COVID-19 pandemic while simultaneously coping with pandemic impacts on themselves and their agencies. Developing inter-agency collaborations and promoting advocates’ safety and wellbeing during future public health crises will help support IPV survivors.

“At the Root of COVID Grew a More Complicated Situation”: A Qualitative Analysis of the Guatemalan Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response System during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The International Labour Organization estimates that informal workers saw their earnings decline by 60% in the first months of the pandemic, underscoring the dire financial situation in which many Guatemalans found themselves [ 44 ]. In response to deteriorating SDH, many GBV service providers mentioned being compelled to shift or expand services to meet clients’ basic needs, a pattern that has been similarly noted in high-income countries [ 17 , 45 ]. In our data, several service providers alluded to the financial and resource challenges posed by the pandemic-related exacerbation of poverty.…”

“…The GBV prevention and response system is the medium through which GBV survivors and service providers interact to facilitate the reporting of violence and/or access to care. Scholarship has detailed how isolation in the home, unemployment, and movement restrictions have magnified GBV risk [ 1 , 14 , 15 , 16 ], as well as highlighted the resource and burnout challenges faced by service providers trying to address this increased vulnerability to violence [ 5 , 17 , 18 ]. Such literature has advanced the understanding of how and why the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified individual-level risk of violence and/or reduced the capacity of service providers to meet this increased vulnerability.…”

“…Previous research has shown how this shock has magnified GBV, altered reporting, and increased vulnerability to GBV risk factors in high, low-, and middle-income countries (LMICs), as well as fragile states [ 16 , 22 ]. However, within the context of LMICs, less is known about how the pandemic context has altered the functioning of GBV systems, intersectoral coordination of services, and the provision of quality digitized services [ 17 , 23 , 24 ]. Gender-sensitive systems, perspectives, and approaches to pandemic control have been extremely limited, thereby inhibiting effective GBV prevention and response during the pandemic, particularly in LMICs and Latin America [ 25 ].…”

Practice Note: Domestic Violence Advocacy and Response to Intimate Partner Homicide in the COVID-19 Era

“…This new heavily virtual space for advocacy and service provision offers both challenges and opportunities to grow and evolve DV work (Garcia et al, 2021). JGCC discovered quickly that many tried-and-true support strategies were inadequate or ill-suited to particulars of pandemic-era DV service provision and advocacy.…”

COVID-19 pandemic and intimate partner violence

“…Basic information on services for IPV victims can be found in the directory prepared by the ministry responsible for social welfare. 9 With the establishment of new shelters, Croatia has come closer to meeting the Istanbul Convention's requirement (Article 23) 10 for adequate, accessible shelters for survivors and their children. If we calculate the figures using the population from the last census in 2021 (3.88 million inhabitants) and current shelter capacities, we can conclude that Croatia has 334 beds 11 and that only 15% of beds are missing to fully meet the required standard.…”