Citation

Noman AHM, Griffiths MD, Pervin S, Ismail MN. J. Psychiatr. Res. 2020; 134: 111-112.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.12.057

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about a ruinous effect globally and killing more than 1,712,000 individuals worldwide (Worldometer, 2020), shutting down sources of income and means of livelihood of millions of families across the world (Hossain, 2020). The actual social and economic costs of the outbreak have yet to be ascertained. However, another major detrimental effect of the pandemic is domestic violence against women, which is having a severe physical and psychological impact on the health of women (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020). After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rates of domestic violence against women increased in many countries: 300% in China, 50% in Brazil, 30% in Cyprus, France, and New Zealand, 25% in the United Kingdom (UK), and 20% in Spain (Graham-Harrison et al., 2020; Bradbury-Jones and Isham, 2020; New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse, 2020). However, it should be noted that the estimates concerning the increased incidence of the violence come from diverse data sources including police reports, hotline contacts, and one-stop crisis centers, which varies both between and within countries. However, violence against women may be even worse in some African, Middle East, and South Asian countries where - even before the advent of the pandemic - women are not treated equally. This correspondence highlights the reasons of domestic violence against women during the ongoing pandemic, and way forward to mitigate such violation.

Violence against women results in severe mental, psychological, sexual, and reproductive health problems including sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancies, and (in extreme cases) death (WHO, 2020). In a bid to inhibit the spread of COVID-19 and acting in accordance with WHO directives, almost all countries implemented various preventive measures such as a partial or complete lockdown to ensure individuals stayed at home, self-quarantine for suspected infected people, and 'work from home' policies. These measures have increased the risk of domestic violence against women in a number of different ways.

First, the 'stay home-stay safe' strategy can create physical, economic, and mental stress amongst couples due to limited access to various economic and social resources. Under such circumstances, such homes can become places for the occurrence of increased physical, psychological and/or sexual abuse. The dynamic...

Language: en

Keywords

COVID-19; Pandemic; Domestic violence against women