Family violence and COVID‐19: Increased vulnerability and reduced options for support
Open accessAbstract
Family violence refers to threatening or other violent behaviours within families that may be physical, sexual, psychological, or economic, and can include child abuse and intimate partner violence (Peterman et al. 2020, van Gelder et al. 2020). Family violence during pandemics is associated with a range of factors including economic stress, disaster-related instability, increased exposure to exploitative relationships, and reduced options for support (Peterman et al. 2020). Due to the social isolation measures implemented across the globe to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, people living in volatile situations of family violence are restricted to their homes. Social isolation exacerbates personal and collective vulnerabilities while limiting accessible and familiar support options (van Gelder et al. 2020). In many countries, including Australia, we have already seen an increase in demand for domestic violence services and reports of increased risk for children not attending schools (Duncan, 2020), a pattern similar to previous episodes of social isolation associated with epidemics and pandemics (Boddy, Young & O'Leary 2020). In Australia, as stay-at-home orders came into force, the police in some parts of the country reported a 40% drop in crime overall, but a 5% increase in domestic abuse call-outs (Kagi 2020). At the same time in Australia, Google reported a 75% increase in Internet searches relating to support for domestic abuse (Poate 2020).
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Perpetrators have exploited the fear of spreading or contracting COVID-19 to control their partner's movements and further isolate them from support networks.
“Perpetrators have reportedly exploited the fear of spreading or contracting COVID-19 to control their partner's movements and further isolate them from support networks (Gearing, 2020;Nancarrow, 2019;Usher et al., 2020).”
From COVID-19 lockdowns, intimate partner violence and coercive control. (2021) · cites this paper as Usher et al., 2020
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“Isolation paired with psychological and economic stressors accompanying the pandemic as well as potential increases in negative coping mechanisms (e.g. excessive alcohol consumption) can come together in a perfect storm to trigger an unprecedented wave of family violence (van Gelder et al. 2020).”
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“Perpetrators have reportedly exploited the fear of spreading or contracting COVID- 19 to control their partner's movements and further isolate them from support networks (Gearing, 2020; Nancarrow, 2019; Usher et al., 2020).”
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- Authors
- Usher, K., Bhullar, N., Durkin, J., Gyamfi, N., & Jackson, D.
- Affiliations
- University of New England (AU)
- University of Technology Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Usher, Kim
- Venue
- International Journal of Mental Health Nursing
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-05-07
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 549-552
- ISSN
- 1445-8330 (ISSN-L)
- 1447-0349
- PMC
- PMC7264607
- OpenAlex
- W3016959715
- Cited by
- 979
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 69 · 2023: 147 · 2022: 216 · 2021: 323 · 2020: 165
- FWCI
- 117.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- OPUS - Open Publications of UTS Scholars (University of Technology Sydney) (submittedVersion)
- RUNE (Research UNE) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Demography › Elder Abuse and Neglect
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Keywords
- domestic violence, intimate partner violence, COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation, stay-at-home orders, child abuse, support services, financial stress, Australia
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Aged, Child, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Female, Humans, Male, Pneumonia, Viral, Psychosocial Deprivation, Quarantine, Risk Factors, Social Isolation, Social Support, Prevalence, Domestic Violence, Coronavirus Infections, Vulnerable Populations, Pandemics
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