Citation

Warren S, Morley C, Clarke J, Vitis L, Ryan V, Carrington K, Ball M. Violence Against Women 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/10778012211054871

PMID

34859730

Abstract

COVID-19 has increased threats to women's safety in Australia and globally. This research is based on a 2020 nationwide survey about the impacts of COVID-19 on domestic and family violence (DFV) services and allied sectors throughout Australia. This study focuses on how perpetrator behaviors-coercion, control, and violence-changed and intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two central themes identified from this qualitative analysis were the increase in complexity and severity of DFV during COVID-19. The analysis highlights how perpetrator behavior reflects the weaponizing of COVID-19 against women and children. The article concludes with a discussion about the theoretical, practice, and policy implications.

Language: en

Keywords

COVID-19 pandemic; domestic and family violence; intimate terrorism; perpetrator behavior