Abstract
Domestic violence is a public health epidemic worldwide. It is a significant disguised trauma that takes several different forms and, for the survivor and the entire family, leads to severe physical and psychological trauma. Stress, emotional disappointment, economic conditions, insecurity, uncertainty, and inadequate housing are circumstances that may cause episodes of violence in the family. How does the government's forced home isolation influence this form of traumatic domestic abuse to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infections? Since the quarantine started, several papers have reported a fluctuation in incidents of domestic violence around the globe. Is this a possible signal for public institutions to wake up? We will address the dangers associated with quarantine measures during the pandemic in this mini-review and recommend measures to deal with and improve the reporting of cases of traumatic domestic abuse.
Keywords: COVID 19, Domestic Violence, Lockdown, Pandemic, Trauma.
Introduction
COVID-19 has triggered the quarantine of millions of people around the world to prevent the spread of the virus, but people in abusive or violent relationships do not benefit from this isolation. Each family unit has been affected by COVID-19 in some way. Apart from a study that highlights the symptoms of traumatized children who will resume their schools after COVID-19 (Hill, 2020), there are many more individuals who have experienced trauma that will return to the routine workplace, professional or academic settings. Some will have endured the suffering of loved ones with a terrifying and unpredictable disease, and some will even have lost relatives or friends because of COVID-19. Other than psychological reactions of trauma, some would have encountered sudden food and housing shortages and inconsistency, as the result of the rapid and deep pandemic-caused recession. Some people, particularly essential workers who cannot work from home, are also afraid of this uncertainty. Further, families may have a sibling who has COVID-19 and needs to be hospitalized, but they cannot personally visit or offer care to them. So many scenarios remain unreported and unpublished. Among these situations, traumatized children are more likely to conflict with peers and teachers, be absent from school, and face academic difficulty. Children who are exposed to significant traumatic events, such as pandemics, may experience severe symptoms (Hill, 2020). As Bhatia et al. (2020) emphasized, children were identified as invisible carriers that posed a risk of infection to others in the early stages of the response to COVID-19 infections. Social distancing interventions minimize interaction between children and parents with formal and informal support systems that also play a role in avoiding and responding to abuse (Bhatia, Fabbri, Cerna-Turoff, Tanton, Knight, Turner, Lokot, Lees, Cislaghi, Peterman, & Guedes, 2020). It has also been observed that tension and conflict have affected the quality of interpersonal relationships. Sometimes, this negative effect may involve mental, physical, sexual, and financial violence or poor behavioral control. Due to the current pandemic, some young people are reporting more violence in their relationships. As Ragavan (2020) reported, children are tenser and frustrated due to the extent of pressures and distress from the various constraints. These children or parents who are survivors of abuse are at greater risk of domestic violence (Abramson, 2020). Further, compulsory lockdowns (in various cities) to curb the spread of COVID-19 have not only locked partners in their homes with their perpetrators but also have isolated them from the people and services that could support them (Godin, 2020; Khurana, 2020).
According to the United Nations COVID-19 response (2020), domestic abuse, also called "domestic violence" or "intimate partner violence", can be defined as a pattern of conduct in any relationship that is used to obtain or retain power and influence over an intimate partner. Physical, sexual, mental, economic or psychological acts or threats that affect another person can be called domestic violence. This includes any conduct that threatens, intimidates, terrorizes, manipulates, harms, humiliates, accuses, or injures anyone. People of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender may experience domestic violence (Card & Dahl, 2011; Pronyk, et al., 2006). Within a variety of relationships, it can happen. People of all social backgrounds and levels of education are affected by domestic abuse. In a relationship, anyone may be a victim of violence. According to a 2019 report by the National Institute of Population Studies, 24.5 percent of Pakistani girl children and women aged 15-49 experience intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime (Aizer, 2011; Anderberg., 2016; Geo News, 2020).
The literature suggests that women and children are most at risk, while older people and people with disabilities report negligence or are neglected more frequently (Iratzoqui, 2018; WHO, 2017). Therefore, the spectrum of domestic violence falls into a multitude of actions, often subtle, which seek to influence the other person. Systematic and rigorous evidence of the negative effects of traumatic events, such as a pandemic, is still very minimal, especially for developing countries such as Pakistan, despite the great social and media impact of this issue. National authorities and foreign and civil society groups have warned of their potential effect on domestic violence incidence (UN Women, 2020). Analysis of the intra-family setting reveals a relational dynamic of chronic frustration, stress, and disappointment driven by the abuser’s possessive and destructive control (Bensley, Van Eenwyk, Wynkoop, 2003). It is important that the victim understands that she/he lives in a violent relationship in order to avoid this spiral, but sometimes the victim never raises a complaint for fear of consequences or because they fear the effects on the family. The failure to report these crimes suggests that they are too often underestimated and unpunished, allowing the violence to continue and affect the victim's psycho-physical wellbeing and the home environment (Giubilini, Douglas, & Maslen, 2017). Today, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the forced isolation of families in their homes has created a dangerous situation with the potential to cause domestic disputes and violence episodes within the family. Taking this into consideration, the present mini-review addresses the association between COVID-19 trauma and domestic violence. The statistical data that emerged across the globe is reviewed ahead and the major findings are elaborated, accordingly.
Method
A systematic review of studies, blogs, and online newspapers articles on COVID-19 and domestic violence was performed for the current study. Data was retrieved from google online sources. Accordingly, research papers, blogs, news and stories from April 2020 to November 2020 were identified by using the following keywords: “COVID 19 trauma”, “domestic violence as trauma”, and “impact of COVID-19 on domestic violence”. Inclusion criteria was that, (a) the study needs to have evidence of COVID-19’s impact on domestic violence and (b) available online in the English language. Around 5,527 articles on COVID-19 were identified. Among these, only 27 were finalized as our inclusion criteria only included those that contained content on domestic violence.
Results and Discussion
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused hundreds of thousands of people to die and has contributed to enormous changes in millions of peoples’ lives all around the world. In most nations, fear of contagion and the declaration of mandatory lockdowns have dramatically decreased the mobility of individuals and caused a global economic crisis. Quarantine is important to minimize the spread of coronavirus disease in the population, but it also has significant psychological and socially damaging effects (Mittal, & Singh, 2020). After the outbreak of the pandemic, national authorities and organizations of international and civil society have warned against its potential effects on the incidence of domestic violence. Warnings were focused on the recognition that domestic violence-related problems were generated by the pandemic: a rise in the pain and distress of people (Card & Dahl, 2011); potential shifts in the gender income gap (Aizer, 2011; Anderberg, 2016; Pronyk, et. al., 2006); an increase in the amount of time people spent at home; and a wide range of negative psychological impacts (Brooks, 2020). In reaction to the COVID- 19 pandemic, the implementation of strict lockdown measures created conditions that would increase domestic violence (Brooks, 2020). Meanwhile, there is a danger as per the presence of interpersonal violence during COVID-19 quarantine. People faced an unseen and dark enemy as well as an experience of impotence during the COVID-19 outbreak. A systematic review found that aggression occurs along with the potential transgenerational transmission of trauma and violence due to anger and agitation sensations (Mazza, Marano, Lai, Janiri, & Sani 2020). Domestic abuse has thus added another public health issue to the toll of the latest coronavirus. Whenever families spend more time together, this increases instances of domestic violence (Taub, 2020). There is a higher frequency of physical intimate partner violence afterward, both in actual numbers and proportion, with more serious incidents occurring despite fewer patients disclosing intimate partner violence (Khurana, 2020), which is itself trauma. This intimate partner violence is a systemic type of violence that undermines one's feelings of affection, confidence, and self-esteem, with major adverse effects on physical and psychological health (Barbara, Facchin, Micci, Rendiniello, Giulini, Cattaneo, Vercellini, & Kustermann, 2020).
As a consequence of the pandemic, even with stay-at-home orders lifting and areas reopening, there is still a rise in stressors. Schools remain closed, and camps and events are cancelled, resulting in children staying at home. Families may feel exhausted and disappointed that they are unable to escape from each other. They are separated from extended family and friends at the same time and can no longer take part in many fun and enjoyable events. Certain families are likely to face more disputes with all of this happening. It is not known whether, in these conditions, domestic abuse will occur for the first time. Someone who is typically nonviolent is not likely to start behaving that way unexpectedly. But if a person has been abusive in the past because of the added stressors, they might become more aggressive (Campbell, 2020). The economic dependency, income disparities, and work prospects of individuals (e.g., Aizer, 2010; Basu and Famoye, 2010; Bhalotra, 2020; Munyo & Rossi, 2013), substance abuse (Angelucci, 2008), wellbeing (Papageorge, 2016 ) or socioeconomic insecurity (Papageorge, 2019) are all factors influencing domestic violence (Aizer, 2011). In the meantime, Peterman et al., (2020) examined the literature and document that quarantines and social isolation are essential channels to explain the reported rise in violence against women and girls during pandemics and document three channels where intimate partners violence may be affected by the lockdown. The first derives from the inability to escape during lockdowns from an abusive partner, which may lead to more chances for the partner to engage in violent actions. In addition, quarantines contribute to social isolation, which can lead to at least two notions.
On the one hand, anxiety and multiple mental health conditions, both possible causes of aggression or actions that may be linked to this violence, have been correlated with social isolation. Sediri et al. (2020) suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic produced a general distress situation. While the focus was initially more on physical health during the pandemic, there was a rapid spike in mental health issues linked to the lockdown. This study examined the effect of the COVID-19-related lockdowns on mental health and gender-based violence against Tunisian women. They found that more serious signs of depression, anxiety and stress were found in people who had a history of mental illness and were reportedly assaulted during the lockdown. Around 40 percent of females reported problematic use of social media. During the lockdown, from 4.4 to 14.8 percent, violence against women has officially increased dramatically (Sediri et al., 2020).
Lockdowns are a challenge (Pereda, & Díaz-Faes, 2020) in various parts of the world, and many media outlets have reported rises in domestic violence. While there is relatively little specific research on lockdowns and domestic violence, there is sufficient evidence of the effect of quarantine-related causes and the impact of general economic and social problems on domestic violence. Brooks et al. (2020) analyzed multiple studies looking at the psychological impact of quarantines and found that among survivors of domestic abuse, quarantines have varied and negative psychological consequences, including stress, anxiety, trauma, frustration, and depression. Violence-related factors include tension, anger, and emotional instability (Munyo & Rossi, 2013) and, specifically, are more associated with domestic violence (Card & Dahl, 2011). The frequency of domestic violence may also be impacted by the economic consequences of the lockdown. Changes in the unemployment rate (Anderberg, 2016), the gender income gap (Aizer, 2010), and access to opportunities for finance or jobs (Pronyk, et al., 2006) could alter the domestic balance and lead to increases in domestic violence. In addition, joblessness and the lockdown itself extend the frequency of time people spend at home, potentially increasing instances of domestic violence (Dugan, 1999).
The evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic also points in another direction: Sanga and McCrary (2020) and Leslie and Wilson (2020) researched the impact of COVID-19 on domestic violence through the use of police calls from those requesting services. Sanga and McCrary (2020) find that social distancing has led to a 12 percent rise in domestic abuse calls, while a 10 percent increase was found by Leslie and Wilson (2020). At the same time, Perez-Vincent and colleagues (2020) addressed the effect of domestic violence in Argentina due to the mandatory COVID-19 lockdowns. They also generated a substantial 32 percent rise in emergency helpline calls. Their research also finds a positive link between restrictions on lockdowns and intimate partner abuse. They stressed the need to supplement the restrictions on mobility imposed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic with specialized resources to respond to domestic violence caused by the lockdown (Perez-Vincent, Carreras, Gibbons, Murphy & Rossi, 2020).
Meanwhile, at the height of the coronavirus epidemic, domestic abuse cases registered to local police in China tripled in February. Similarly, requests for a hotline for female violence have risen fivefold in Tunisia. Calls to the national violence hotline in the UK have risen by 65 percent (Townsend, 2020). Calls made in Spain to a state-run hotline increased by 12.5 percent, while online consultations increased by 270 percent. Domestic abuse incidents in Cyprus have seen a 30 percent spike in calls in the first weeks of stay-at-home initiatives.
In Turkey, the emergency line of the police is overloaded with epidemic emergencies, and many women do not get through to a respondent or receive appropriate assistance (Deb-Roy, 2020). French police have recorded a national increase in domestic abuse of about 30 percent (Taub, 2020). In cases of domestic violence, there is a 20 percent spike as most women are stuck in households with perpetrators (Mohan, 2020). In addition, during the COVID-19 lockout, Every-Palmer et al. (2020) investigated the psychological well-being of New Zealanders as constraints reduced social interaction, limited opportunities for leisure, and resulted in work losses and financial insecurity. Divesting effects from these constraints were observed among young people (Every-Palmer, Jenkins, Gendall, Hoek, Beaglehole, Bell, Williman, Rapsey, & Stanley, 2020). At the same time, Yamamura and Tsutsui (2020) established that Japan had relatively few COVID-19 victims, while more modest steps were taken by the Japanese government than by other nations. Nevertheless, the pandemic has placed tremendous strain on the mental health of people all over the world, which has caused domestic violence to increase (Yamamura & Tsutsui, 2020). In addition, the number of domestic violence complaints received by the National Commission for Women in India doubled from 123 calls for distress to 239 complaints of domestic violence from March 23, 2020 to April 16, 2020 (Gupta, 2020).
As far as Pakistan is concerned, mental health practitioners in the country have confirmed that cases of domestic violence during lockdown have increased. The Ministry of Human Rights also set up a National Domestic Abuse Helpline (Soharwardi, 2020). National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan has set up a dedicated "Gender and Child Cell" to deal with domestic abuse cases (Huma, 2020). The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) (2020) has explicitly clarified that domestic abuse is a pattern of patriarchal hegemony.
In Pakistan, 70 to 90 percent of women experience some form of an intimate partner's physical, emotional, or psychological violence (UNODC. 2020). The effect of COVID-19 on women's lives in Pakistan with regard to the escalation of domestic violence resulting from self-isolation and women's detention in their households during the lockdown is visible. Similarly, UNODC (2020) infographics show that 90% of women in Pakistan, at the hands of their husbands or relatives, have witnessed some form of domestic violence. Sexual abuse has been experienced by 47% of married women, particularly domestic rape. 50 percent of women say that when they are pregnant, abuse either increases or does not improve (Chagani, 2020).
Regardless of the backdrop of COVID-19, domestic violence cases have occurred at an unprecedented pace across Pakistan. Although we do not yet have official data of this nature relating to the lockdown in Pakistan, recent gender-based violence data paints a grim picture (Feroz, 2020). In Pakistan, since the COVID-19 lockdown began, mental health practitioners offering online counseling sessions also agree that they have seen an increase in cases of domestic violence. Domestic violence in Pakistan has already been a haunting issue; more cases are emerging in this period of anxiety and depression for all (Soharwardi, 2020). Coupled with restricted travel and social exclusion steps, a pandemic deepens economic and social tensions, exponentially rising gender-based violence. Evidence indicates that economic, domestic and health stresses increase domestic harassment and other types of gender-based violence during the lockdown. Pakistan is no exception, where domestic violence cases have occurred at an unprecedented pace. Recognizing that women and men are affected differently by COVID-19 can be a key to implementing efficient, inclusive program approaches and policies. In addition, it is important to supplement the mobility limit imposed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic with specialized resources to respond to the domestic violence created by the lockdown (Perez-Vincent, Carreras, Gibbons, Murphy & Rossi, 2020)
Conclusion
The current study found aggression, anxiety, stress, conflict, and poor mental wellbeing as major consequences of domestic violence. Online consultation and reporting have increased in European countries, and cases of domestic violence have also increased in Pakistan. It has also been identified that mostly children and women are observed as the victims of violence. Domestic violence determinants during a pandemic are observed as isolation, restricted social and financial activities, forced lockdown, uncertainty, etc. The findings also suggest a need for programs to prevent domestic violence and to accurately examine multiple areas of traumatic abuse (psychological, physical, sexual) supported by qualified multidisciplinary personnel, particularly during the emergence of quarantine and COVID-19 around the world (including psychiatrists, psychologists, social and legal services).
