Global prevalence of intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic among women: systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

BackgroundDuring the coronavirus pandemic, people faced strict preventive measures, including staying at home and maintaining social distance, which led to increasing rates of intimate partner violence. Women have been facing dual health emergencies, including COVID-19 and domestic violence. Despite this, there is a lack of representative data on intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic and inconsistent findings.MethodsThe Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used to develop the systematic review and meta-analysis. All English-language studies conducted between 31 December 2019 and May 15/2022 were extracted from databases such as PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. The quality of the articles was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-MAStARI). The I2 was used to assess heterogeneity among studies. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plot inspection and Egger’s test. A random effect model was used for the analysis using RevMan and STATA 14 software.ResultA total of 5065 studies were retrieved, and 14 studies were included in the final meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of intimate partner violence was 31% (95% CI: 22, 40). Subgroup analysis based on region showed that the highest prevalence of intimate partner violence was in developing regions (33, 95% CI: 23.0, 43.0) compared to developed regions (14, 95% CI: 11.0, 17.0). Subgroup analysis based on country showed that Uganda had the highest prevalence of IPV 68% (95% CI: 62.0, 72.0), and the lowest was in the USA 10% (95% CI: 7.0, 15.0).ConclusionNearly one in three women experienced intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subgroup analysis based on region showed that the highest prevalence of intimate partner violence was in developing regions (33%). All forms of intimate partner violence (physical, sexual, emotional, and economic) were prevalent. Thus, available interventions should be implemented to alleviate women’s intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic and similar emerging and remerging pandemics, particularly in developing countries.Trial registrationPROSPERO registration number: CRD42022334613.