Abstract
During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments instituted a series of measures to control the spread of the virus. The measures were widely believed to increase women’s risk of violent victimization, most of which is by an intimate partner. We examined help-seeking during this period in a large U.S. city and used an interrupted time series analysis to assess the effects of three government interventions on domestic violence and sexual assault hotline calls and on “911” calls regarding domestic violence, assault, and rape. Declaration of an emergency appeared to reduce victim calls to the rape crisis hotline and the few “911” calls about rape. School closure was associated with a reduction in “911” calls about assault and rape and victim calls to the domestic violence hotline. Implementation of stay-at-home orders was associated with a gradual increase in domestic violence hotline calls. Although “911” calls regarding assault fell by nearly half, calls to police for domestic violence were unchanged. In sum, there was a decrease in help-seeking for sexual assault and assault in general but not for domestic violence during the initial phases of the COVID-19 outbreak. The analysis underscores the importance of distinguishing between the violence itself, calls to police, and calls to helplines when claims are made about changes over time in violence against women. The opportunities and constraints for each can differ widely under usual circumstances, circumstances that were altered by public health interventions related to the pandemic.
Highlights
Background and significanceSocial distancing and stay-at-home orders were imposed around the globe in early 2020 in an effort to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus
By looking at emergency calls to police and calls to rape crisis and domestic violence hotlines, we were able to capture a fuller range of help-seeking than had we studied only one type of violence or one type of service provider
There were 4,587 calls to the domestic violence hotline during the first five months of 2020: 69.1% were from victims, 10.5% from third-party professionals, 9.6% were hang-up calls, 4.7% were from individuals seeking other services, 3.3% were from friends or relatives of victims, and the remaining 2.9% were wrong numbers, prank calls, or from an abuser
Summary
Social distancing and stay-at-home orders were imposed around the globe in early 2020 in an effort to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus Such measures reduced exposure to people outside the home who may be asymptomatic carriers of the virus and increased exposure to family and other household members. These measures were necessary to reduce disease transmission, the combination of fear, isolation, and subsequent economic and social pressures caused experts to fear a “horrifying global surge in domestic violence.” (Guterres, n.d.). Real-time rates of domestic violence during this or any other period is difficult, if not impossible
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