Citation

Kofman YB, Weiss CCD, Yim IS. BMC Public Health 2023; 23(1): e715.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group - BMC)

DOI

10.1186/s12889-023-15560-8

PMID

37081496

PMCID

PMC10116080

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have been far-reaching, disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations. Of particular concern is the impact on individuals experiencing domestic violence (DV), an urgent public health issue. There have been numerous reports of pandemic-related surges in DV, and it has been speculated that prolonged periods of state-mandated isolation may be the source of these surges. The current study utilized publicly available records to examine fluctuations in DV coinciding with COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in a diverse metropolitan county.

METHODS: Data were extracted from local police blotters and mapping engines in Orange County, California (United States), documenting police-reported DV assault. All incidents were coded for time to examine the time course of DV among other types of assault, allowing for a longitudinal view of incidents over a 66-week window. Changepoint analyses were used to determine whether and when DV assaults changed when mapped with coinciding tightening or loosening of restrictions county-wide. Piecewise regression analyses evaluated whether any detected fluctuations were statistically meaningful.

RESULTS: In Santa Ana, rates saw a small but significant spike in the week following the first major lockdown in March 2020 (b = .04, SE = .02, t = 2.37, p = .01), remaining stable at this higher level thereafter (b = -.003, SE = .003, t = -1.29, p = .20). In Anaheim, no meaningful change in DV assault rates was observed at any time interval.

CONCLUSION: Results suggest that surges in DV vary between communities and that systemic issues may set the stage for the surge of an already endemic problem.

Language: en

Keywords

Community; COVID-19; Pandemic; Domestic violence; Assault; Calls for service