COVID-19 and the Risk for Increased Intimate Partner Violence Among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States

Abstract

Stay at home orders–intended to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by limiting social contact–have forced people to remain in their homes. The additional stressors created by the need to stay home and socially isolate may act as triggers to intimate partner violence (IPV). In this article, we present data from a recent online cross-sectional survey with gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in the United States to illustrate changes in IPV risks that have occurred during the U.S. COVID-19 epidemic. The Love and Sex in the Time of COVID-19 survey was conducted online from April to May 2020. GBMSM were recruited through paid banner advertisements featured on social networking platforms, recruiting a sample size of 696 GBMSM. Analysis considers changes in victimization and perpetration of IPV during the 3 months prior to the survey (March-May 2020) that represents the first 3 months of lockdown during the COVID-19 epidemic. During the period March-May 2020, 12.6% of participants reported experiencing any IPV with higher rates of emotional IPV (10.3%) than sexual (2.2%) or physical (1.8%) IPV. Of those who reported IPV victimization during lockdown, for almost half this was their first time experience: 5.3% reported the IPV they experienced happened for the first time during the past 3 months (0.8% physical, 2.13% sexual, and 3.3% emotional). Reporting of perpetration of IPV during lockdown was lower: only 6% reported perpetrating any IPV, with perpetration rates of 1.5% for physical, 0.5% for sexual, and 5.3% for emotional IPV. Of those who reported perpetration of IPV during lockdown, very small percentages reported that this was the first time they had perpetrated IPV: 0.9% for any IPV (0.2% physical, 0.2% sexual, and 0.6% emotional). The results illustrate an increased need for IPV resources for GBMSM during these times of increased stress and uncertainty, and the need to find models of resource and service delivery that can work inside of social distancing guidelines while protecting the confidentiality and safety of those who are experiencing IPV.

Personality disorders (PD) and interpersonal violence (IV) during COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review

“…Barbara and colleagues showed a reduction in the number of women seeking help at the Service for Sexual and Domestic Violence during home confinement [ 75 ]. Accordingly, other studies found a reduction in reporting DV and seeking help during lockdown [ 53 , 76 – 79 ]. Conversely, two studies reported an increase in the rate of calls to help lines for DV [ 80 , 81 ], and the successful use of telemedicine in preventing and detecting violence cases [ 81 ].…”

“…For what concerns the effects of COVID-19 on IPV, literature revealed increased levels of both hetero and self-directed violence [ 50 , 51 , 53 – 55 ], while report rates and supporting network seeking were found to decrease during the pandemic [ 53 , 75 – 79 ]. Mitigation measures highlighted the need for improvement of support services for IPV victims.…”

Examining the impact of social distancing and methamphetamine use on sexual risk and intimate partner violence in sexual and gender minority young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…One study linked PrEP discontinuation during COVID-19 to overall reductions in casual sex, finding that 86% of participants attributed their discontinuation to a decreased number of casual sexual encounters ( Hammoud et al, 2020a ). Efforts to encourage social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic may also be redefining SGM relationships with sexual health services; some studies have reported reductions in access to sexual healthcare services including HIV testing, PrEP services, and other reproductive services ( Nagendra et al, 2020 , Stephenson et al, 2021a , Stephenson et al, 2021b ) ( Sanchez et al, 2020a , Sanchez et al, 2020b , Stephenson et al, 2021a , Stephenson et al, 2021b ).…”

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic some have suggested that social confinement may impact experience of IPV and access to IPV resources during the pandemic ( Phillips et al, 2020 , Tomar et al, 2021 ). Some surveillance data has suggested increases in domestic violence service-seeking during the COVID-19 pandemic in general populations ( Pedrosa et al, 2020 ) and one study found increased experience of IPV among adult gay and bisexual men in the first three months of COVID-19 lockdown ( Stephenson et al, 2021a , Stephenson et al, 2021b ); however, no known studies have examined the impact of COVID-19 related social distancing and IPV in SGM young adult populations.…”

Psychosocial Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People Living in Portugal and Brazil—A Qualitative Study

“…73 Finally, being forced to stay at home made LGBTIQ individuals to be more exposed to the risk of social isolation and lack of dating interaction, with a drastic decrease of regular sexual and relational activities and an increased risk of sexual and relational activities under the effect of illicit substances, 74 and sexual and intimate partner violence. 75 Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a long-lasting exposure to adverse circumstances among LGBTQI individuals in Portugal and Brazil.…”