Experience and perpetration of intimate partner violence and abuse by gender of respondent and their current partner before and during COVID-19 restrictions in 2020: a cross-sectional study in 13 countries

BMC Public Health

Research

Jason Ferris¹  Emma Davies²  Laura C. Potts³  Adam Winstock⁴  Gail Gilchrist⁵  Dean J. Connolly⁶  Elizabeth Gilchrist⁷  Monica J. Barratt⁸ 

[1] Centre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia;Centre for Psychological Research, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK;Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK;Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, London, UK;Global Drug Survey, London, UK;National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK;National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK;Barts Health NHS Trust, Whipps Cross University Hospital, London, UK;School of Health in Social Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK;Social and Global Studies Centre and Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia;National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, Australia;

关键词: Intimate partner violence and abuse;    COVID-19;    Gender and sexual minorities;    Non-binary;    LGBTQI+;    Transgender;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-022-14635-2

 received in 2022-01-17, accepted in 2022-11-15,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIntimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) includes controlling behaviours, psychological, physical, sexual and financial abuse. Globally, surveys and emergency services have recorded an increase in IPVA since restrictions were imposed to limit COVID-19 transmission. Most studies have only included heterosexual women.MethodsData from the Global Drug Survey (an annual, anonymous, online survey collecting data on drug use) Special Edition were analysed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on people’s lives, including their intimate relationships. Five relationship groupings were created using respondents’ lived gender identity: women partnered with men (46.9%), women partnered with women (2.1%), men partnered with men (2.9%), men partnered with women (47.2%), and partnerships where one or both partners were non-binary (1%). Self-reported experience and perpetration of IPVA in the past 30 days before (February) and during COVID-19 restrictions (May or June) in 2020 (N = 35,854) was described and compared for different relationship groupings using Fishers Exact Tests. Changes in IPVA during restrictions were assessed using multivariable logistic regression.ResultsDuring restrictions, 17.8 and 16.6% of respondents had experienced or perpetrated IPVA respectively; 38.2% of survivors and 37.6% of perpetrators reported this had increased during restrictions. Greater proportions of non-binary respondents or respondents with a non-binary partner reported experiencing or perpetrating IPVA (p < .001) than other relationship groupings. 22.0% of respondents who were non-binary or had a non-binary partner, 19.5% of men partnered with men, 18.9% of men partnered with women, 17.1% of women partnered with women and 16.6% of women partnered with men reported experiencing IPVA. Respondents with higher psychological distress, poor coping with pandemic-related changes, relationship tension and changes (increases or increases and decreases) in alcohol consumption reported increased experience of IPVA during restrictions.ConclusionsThis study confirmed that IPVA can occur in all intimate relationships, regardless of gender of the perpetrator or survivor. Non-binary respondents or respondents with non-binary partners reported the highest use and experience of IPVA. Most IPVA victim support services have been designed for heterosexual, cisgender women. IPVA support services and perpetrator programmes must be tailored to support all perpetrators and survivors during the pandemic and beyond, regardless of their sexual or gender identity.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023