Covid-Induced Intimate Partner Violence: Scoping Review from Africa between 2020 – 2022

Abstract

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) gained global notoriety as a preventable public health menace affecting 30% of females worldwide. The IPV which is implicated as a significant cause of premature mortality and morbidity worldwide has increased during the pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to synthesis evidence of the impact of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic on incidence of IPV in Africa, occurring from 1st January, 2020 to 31st December, 2022. Using Tricco et al. procedure, thorough literature search was done in PubMed, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Dimensions, Taylor and Francis, Chicago Journals, Emerald Insight, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and MedRxiv. Consistent with the inclusion and exclusion protocols, 10 peer reviewed articles were eligible and used for this review. We report that : i) the SARS-COV-2 pandemic escalated the vulnerabilities of people to economic hardship, resulting in increased incidence of IPV during 2020–2022 in Africa, ii) psychological/emotional abuse was the most prevalent form of IPV victims suffered, iii) mental health conditions were the most reported effects of IPV on victims. The prevalence of IPV could undermine the achievement of the SDGs 5.2 by Africa, limiting the content’s quest to achieve full eradication of all types of violence against females. We recommend financial supports for females through social schemes like the Livelihood Employment against Poverty, as in Ghana, create sustainable livelihood for females and intensify public sensitisation on IPV and education on help-seeking avenues. It is important that a study is carried out to assess the structures available for dealing with IPV in Africa.