This article is written by Cailin Crockett, security fellow, Truman National Security Project, and former policy advisor on gender-based violence in the Obama Administration

“He’s using the virus as a scare tactic to keep me away from my kids.”

“I needed a restraining order, but the courts were closed.”

“I’m afraid for myself and my kids. But we don’t know where to go.” — Stylised examples from survivors of domestic violence in calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early March, the phones at the US National Domestic Violence Hotline were glowing red-hot. On the other end, survivors of domestic violence spoke about the specific ways in which their abusers were tightening their control under the still very unknown spectre of the virus.

From March to May 2020, according to the Hotline, more than 6,200 calls from survivors nationwide were requests for help related to abuse exacerbated by Covid-19 (approximately 1 out of every 10 calls during that period); overall call volume increased by 9%.

An increase in the incidence of intimate partner (IPV) and sexual violence in the wake of public health emergencies and natural disasters is nothing new — in fact, it’s an established, global pattern. Take for example the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, where women’s health advocates noted increases in sexual violence against adolescent girls, made more vulnerable to abuse due to school closures; or Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which saw a rise in both frequency and severity of intimate partner violence, most pronounced among couples whose livelihoods and possessions had been devastated by the storm.

The other pandemic

Long before the novel coronavirus and other crises, IPV had already been characterised as a pandemic, with an estimated 1 in 3 women and girls globally experiencing violence from an intimate partner in their lifetimes.

In the United States, about 1 in 4 women and nearly 1 in 10 men report being impacted by physical abuse, sexual violence, or stalking by an intimate partner. Women and girls who experience intersecting forms of inequality, for example, on the basis of age, race and ethnicity, migration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability are disproportionately affected.

Tragically, public health measures designed to contain the outbreak have also fostered conditions in which IPV could thrive, as many victims are isolated and increasingly dependent on their partners. Stay-at-home orders have increased risk factors for victims of IPV (as well as child abuse and neglect) by keeping them in quarantine with their abusers and socially isolated, away from safe outlets, in the form of friends, relatives, or crisis shelters.

State-mandated lockdowns, which continue to ebb and flow, have suspended community-based activities, like school, work, or other social gatherings that can reduce harm or prevent violence by creating opportunities for victims to confide in trusted outsiders, and for adults to report suspected child abuse.

Non-essential doctor’s appointments — a critical tool for screening for IPV, have also been severely curtailed. Amidst these dangerous conditions, in the US, experts have raised alarm concerning the unprecedented sales in firearms spurred by the pandemic, given that access to a gun can increase the risk of intimate partner homicide five-fold.

A survey of domestic violence agencies in the US found that on just one day in 2019, there were 11,336 unmet requests for victim services, 68% of which were related to housing and emergency shelter

Even after lockdowns end and social distancing measures ease, victims remain at risk, and will continue to be after the public health crisis ends. In the context of a pandemic that has widened economic disparities, there is little doubt that IPV, which disproportionately impacts poor women (including tipped wage workers, and women in the informal economy), will either worsen or be prolonged by financial vulnerabilities, like job losses, resulting from Covid-19.

Most IPV victims experience some form of economic abuse from their partners, or cite financial barriers as a primary reason for remaining in unhealthy or violent relationships. Survivors living in countries with minimal access to paid time off, healthcare or unemployment insurance, may be dependent on an abusive partner for basic needs, housing and support, or face homelessness.

It won’t be the last time

Since the start of the pandemic, domestic violence shelters, already under-resourced, have faced enormous demands to adapt facilities and services to adhere to social distancing and protect their residents and workers. In the UK, domestic violence refuges were described as “falling apart at the seams”, with migrant women being deterred from accessing services already at capacity.

For example, a survey of domestic violence agencies in the US found that on just one day in 2019, there were 11,336 unmet requests for victim services, 68% of which were related to housing and emergency shelter. Some of the challenges facing these service-providers throughout the pandemic include:

  • finding safe housing alternatives for victims and their children, such as hotel vouchers, in order to limit capacity in shelters;

  • a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for crisis workers interacting with victims;

  • and the systemic barriers for remote, rural, and Indigenous community-based programs to access broadband internet that would enable services to become digital—and therefore more accessible — to vulnerable survivors at home with their abusers.

As social distancing and quarantines ease, victim advocates brace for an expected surge in requests for help from victims newly able to seek support outside of their homes. In the meantime, as the pandemic surges, local, state, and multilateral decisionmakers must allocate resources to domestic and sexual violence programs at scale with the increased demand. This is not only the right thing to do — it’s also smart economic policy.

Leadership from decision-makers at all levels of government will be vital to address the needs of IPV survivors as a permanent fixture of emergency and disaster preparedness strategies

IPV costs the United States [trillions of dollars](https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(18%2931904-4/fulltext), and investing in critical services to reduce harm and prevent severe injury or death could defray expenditures in healthcare, criminal justice, and lost productivity. Globally, the cost of violence against women is estimated to be 2% of GDP.

There are already clear lessons from Covid-19 and the resulting shadow pandemic in which violence against women and children has thrived. Measures to reduce transmission of the virus have hindered survivors’ access to supportive services, reduced connectedness, and created or worsened economic insecurity. Each of these factors can and should be addressed through enhanced support for community-based programs, crisis lines, and transitional and emergency housing.

Some governments have nimbly adapted policies in support of victims’ safety, offering a model for others to follow. For example, the city of Bogota has set up a cash transfer program for IPV survivors and their children, and in Spain, domestic violence shelters are officially deemed essential services, allowing these vital programs autonomy in continuing operations despite lockdowns.

Covid-19 will not be the last global public health emergency. Leadership from decision-makers at all levels of government will be vital to address the needs of IPV survivors as a permanent fixture of emergency and disaster preparedness strategies. These plans must identify a reserve of resources for victims and the frontline providers who work around the clock to support their safety. — Cailin Crockett

If you or someone you care about is experiencing abuse, help is available. Trained victim advocates are ready to offer emotional supports and crisis assistance 24/7 at the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or visit https://www.thehotline.org/ & https://espanol.thehotline.org/

If you are not in the US, these international resources are also available:

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