The Economic Deprivation of COVID-19 on Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence in the United States

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

While stay-at-home orders and quarantining were proactive in reducing the spread of COVID-19, they had unintentional negative impacts on vulnerable populations. Measures taken to mitigate the global pandemic increased the frequency and severity of domestic and intimate partner violence and led to victim entrapment. These confinement measures not only exacerbated physical abuse but also escalated emotional and financial abuse, above and beyond the more generalized economic instability and high unemployment rates ushered in by COVID-19. The pandemic’s negative impact arguably hit victims of domestic and intimate partner violence the hardest, caging victims and survivors to their homes and limiting their access to specialized services and supports. This study uses thematic content analysis to capture specifically the emotional, financial, and physical abuse victims and survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence in the United States faced during the pandemic. Preliminary findings cited that 90% of victims experienced emotional abuse, and 24% of victims experienced financial abuse, with physical abuse accounting for 61% of reports. In addition to physical and emotional abuse, recognizing financial abuse as a form of domestic violence not only merits further attention but can also reconstruct federal and state policies that aim to provide victim and survivor support.

Author

• Alessa Juarez, Indiana University of Pennsylvania