Confinement and intimate partner violence^†

Abstract

The effect of confinement on intimate partner violence is hard to assess, partly because of usual endogeneity problems, but also because the often-used report calls poorly measure that violence. We exploit self-reported survey data from Argentina to study the extent to which the coronavirus pandemic quarantine had unintended consequences on intimate partner violence. The quarantine decree established clear exceptions for heterogeneous subsets of the population and, for reasons plausibly exogenous to the prevalence of intimate partner violence, only some individuals were forced to spend more time with their partners.Using this variability in exposure we find that the lockdown led to an increase between 12% and 35% in intimate partner violence, depending type of violence (emotional, physical or sexual). Given the Argentinian government imposed the full national lockdown when few people felt threatened by the virus, these effects are likely to have been triggered by the actual confinement.

Understanding the epidemiology and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic violence and child abuse in Saudi Arabia

“…Internationally, some studies found that, for many women, “COVID-19 coincided with an increase in the frequency or severity of ongoing violence or abuse” [ 20 , 40 ]. Also, as reported by Gibbons et al and Ragavan et al who studied family violence during COVID-19 in Argentina, those at risk of violence became more vulnerable during COVID restrictions, as it was more difficult to find a safe place to make calls and seek help when an abusive partner or, in case of the child abuse, an abusive parent was present [ 47 , 48 ].…”

Intimate Partner Violence Against Women During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy: A Multicenter Survey Involving Anti-Violence Centers

“…During the lockdown in Spain, the incidence of IPV among cohabitating couples increased by 24% ( Arenas-Arroyo et al, 2020 ). In a sample of women in lockdown in Argentina, when their partners were also placed in quarantine, women reported a higher prevalence of emotional, sexual, and physical IPV ( Gibbons et al, 2020 ). In Bangladesh, among women experiencing emotional or “moderate” partner physical violence, more than half reported that the violence had increased since the lockdown ( Hamadani et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Lockdowns imply several risk factors for IPV ( Peterman et al, 2020a ): Cohabitating couples are forced, in a period dominated by anxieties, limitations, and irritation, to spend more time together, thus augmenting the time of exposure to IPV in case of a violent partner. In the study in Argentina, when both partners were placed in quarantine, they spent together, on average, 3.8 h more than couples where only the women had to stay at home ( Gibbons et al, 2020 ). Isolation limits the occasional monitoring of abusive behavior by other people.…”

“…The increase was greater when IPV was present before the lockdown, there were children involved, women's education was low, and the perpetrator's professional situation worsened in this period. In another online survey of a large sample of Argentinian women under lockdown and cohabitating with a male partner, with partners under or not under lockdown, when women's partners were placed under quarantine, the prevalence of emotional, physical, and sexual IPV increased ( Gibbons et al, 2020 ). Analysis suggested that the increase in hours spent together mediated the effects of the quarantine on IPV.…”

“…In yet another online survey in the United States, among male and female respondents screened for IPV, 54% stated that victimization remained the same, 17% stated it worsened, and 30% said it got better ( Jetelina et al, 2020 ); however, the authors themselves expressed doubts about the validity of their sample. For these online surveys, the response rate was very low (5% in Gibbons et al, 2020 ; 6% in Jetelina et al, 2020 ) or not clearly specified ( Arenas-Arroyo et al, 2020 ).…”