The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on domestic violence: review of international research

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic and the self-isolation measures introduced to combat it have led to the actualization of discussions related to the problem of domestic violence. In this article, we analyze international research results on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on intimate partner violence. The review focuses on three main issues. First, we consider what methods can be used to measure the scale of the problem and draw conclusions about the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Second, we analyze estimates of the scale of the increase in domestic violence due to the pandemic, which can be obtained using various methods. In general, international studies suggest that a lockdown aimed at combating the pandemic leads to an increase in domestic violence. However, the scale of this effect varies significantly between cities and regions of the same country and between different countries. The heterogeneity of the obtained effects indicates the influence of many socio-economic, political, and cultural factors that require additional research. Third, we review the factors explaining the increase in domestic violence: isolation due to lockdown, job loss and economic hardship, psychological problems, etc.