Intimate Partner Violence during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of the Phenomenon from Victims’ and Help Professionals’ Perspectives

Giulia Lausi, Alessandra Pizzo, Clarissa Cricenti, Michela Baldi, Rita Desiderio, Anna Maria Giannini and Emanuela Mari
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Giulia Lausi: Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Alessandra Pizzo: Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Clarissa Cricenti: Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Michela Baldi: Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Rita Desiderio: Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Anna Maria Giannini: Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Emanuela Mari: Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: Social isolation is considered one of the main risk factors leading to intimate partner violence episodes; this evidence also emerged during the application of stay-at-home policies to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, we aimed to collect data on intimate partner violence over the last year, comparing data reported by victims with data collected by help professionals. In accordance with PRISMA guidelines, through keywords related to abuse, pandemic and containment measures, 3174 articles were identified for screening. After full-text reading and risk of bias analysis, 19 studies were included, and a thematic synthesis was conducted according to two categories: “studies with victims” and “studies with help professionals”. The results of the present review showed that there were significant differences between the data provided by victims and the data collected by health care facilities and police departments; additionally, differences among different forms and severity of victimization emerged. The results have been discussed according to the literature; in particular, we reflected on how containment measures have apparently made it more difficult for victims to report, thus making the existence of the dark figure of crime even more salient.

Keywords: stay at home; coronavirus; thematic synthesis; aggressive behavior; helping professions; psychological violence; lockdown; forced cohabitation; victimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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