The prevalence of violence in the personal sphere has been ubiquitous, way before the current occurrence of a pandemic which drastically altered the normalised routines of our lives. The progress of Covid-19 symptoms might be gender neutral, however, its repercussions seem to be formulated from a gendered lens, where conventionally, a higher percentage of women and children suffer significantly at the hands of their aggressor. For a long time, domestic violence has been demonstrated as an ‘incidental’ event (Holt, 2016), having a ‘behind doors’ politics, thereby, being determined as a personal issue and not a societal one. However, the aftermath of a domestic violence case involves grievous effects, entailing consequential physical and psychological illnesses, which, impacts an individual’s quality of life, thereby qualifying it as a public health concern. Domestic aggression is considered as a well-intended pattern of behaviour, portrayed in a continuum of impulse to exert power and control over an individual, through the medium of verbal, emotional, physical and financial means (Holt, 2016). According to World Health Organisation (WHO), one in every three women are subjugated to physical and/or sexual violence, at least once in their lifetime (WHO et al., 2013). This pandemic has instituted itself as a continuous strenuous source of consistently challenging people’s boundaries, in terms of their health, finances, coping mechanisms amongst other psychological means. It has altered the conventional beliefs of communication and living, and by doing so, covid-19 has forced the population into an unchartered territory, therefore, bringing a substantial amount of uncertainty. As people are self-isolating themselves, they are reporting elevated levels of stress due to increased dubiety, which makes them susceptible to higher degrees of aggression (Ramalho, 2020).
In an attempt to contain the spread of covid-19, governments encouraged their citizens to adapt to the lockdown lives, dominated by virtual interactions. While, paradoxically, sentencing millions of domestic violence victims to a life perpetuated by power and control, by severely restricting their movement and already limited social interactions. The growth of covid-19 predominantly accentuated the pre-existing gaps in the governmental policies regarding tackling such concerns. As people took precautionary measures to battle with covid-19 efficiently, through the medium of self-isolation, various countries observed an upsurge in domestic violence emergency calls (Moreira & Costa, 2020). In France, according to the Minister of Interior, a 30% increase in domestic violence cases was observed, with a 36% increase in Paris alone since March (Ertan, El-Hage, Thierree, Javelot & Hingray, 2020). Moreover, according to Ertan et al., (2020), similar trends were reported in Canada, USA, Germany and China (Sacco et al., 2020), where the demand for emergency shelters was continuously escalating. Due to the sudden changes in public concern, support of the police officials was directed towards making arrests specifically in the presence of felonies (Buttell & Ferreira, 2020; Sacco et al, 2020), while any other documentation was strongly discouraged. Essentially, establishing emergency calls as a means of providing only psychological aid (Buttell & Ferreira, 2020), where the domestic violence victims would continue to be trapped under the thumb of the aggressor with no plausible escape. However, not all countries experienced a rise in emergency calls, specifically countries such as Italy (Sacco et al., 2020) and Norway (Ertan et al., 2020) experienced an opposite phenomenon, where a decrease in domestic violence cases was reported (Sacco et al., 2020). Although, this reduction in rate should not be perceived as a positive outlook, rather it is a cause for concern as it depicts the detrimental degree of fear and control an aggressor has over their victims (Barbara et al., 2020).
Conflict and discord are distinguished as the fundamentals of violence within relationships, as according to Riggs et al., (2000), couples who are involved in severe distress were at a larger risk for violence (Moreira & Costa, 2020). The cause for such distress can be significantly impacted by the presence of internal sources, such as lack of communication, or external sources, for instance, financial stressors (Barnawi, 2017). In the presence of insufficient income, feelings of inadequacy, anger (Barbara et al., 2020) and frustration (Moreira & Costa, 2020) are naturally observed, where the victim becomes the recipient of the aforementioned frustration (Hamadani et al., 2020). As the perception of powerlessness stems out of financial uncertainty, plausible humiliation and frustration leads to a modification in the threshold of anger in perpetrators, often leading to sudden unprovoked violent responses (Barbara et al., 2020; Hamadani et al., 2020), typically, directed towards women and children. Due to the establishment of standard perceptions regarding traditional obedience and duties, performed by women, any incongruency leads to commitment of violent acts, more often than not in the form of physical and sexual abuse (Barbara et al., 2020; Hamadani et al., 2020; Moreira & Costa, 2020; Sacco et al., 2020). As in a study conducted by Bourey, Stephenson and Hindin (2013), about 51% of Indian men and 54% of Indian women agreed that a husband has the right to beat his wife, if she falls short in fulfilling her morally conventional wifely duties. Presence of such a belief is observed to become more concrete in times like this, where the workload of a household intensifies (Moreira & Costa, 2020) as family members start spending increased amounts of time within each other’s company.
The economic independence of the victim can be compromised, due to the disruption of jobs and family economy during covid-19, as scarce resources are being accessible to the victim with a significant moderation being managed by the aggressor. Therefore, modulating the minute medium of freedom experienced by the victim, as their trivial expenses are being observed every step of the way and any perceived reckless purchase made by the victim becomes a source for abuse by the aggressor (Barbara et al., 2020; Buttell & Ferreira, 2020; Hamadani et al., 2020; Moreira & Costa, 2020; Sacco et al., 2020). Moreover, the forced isolation of families creates a dynamic dominated by impunity and increased potential triggers for domestic conflicts and episodes of abuse. Due to the intra-family setting of chronic frustration, disappointment and stress, driven by the aggressor’s destructive desire and possessiveness for control (Bensley, Van & Wynkoop, 2003). As several studies have identified a linkage between unemployment or poverty with an increased likelihood of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) (Ertan et al., 2020; Nanthini & Nair; 2020; Malik & Naeem; 2020; Mazza, Marano, Lai, Janiri & Sani, 2020; Osland, Roysamb & Nortvedt, 2020; Sanchez, Vale, Rodrigues & Surita, 2020). In a study conducted by Hamadani et al., (2020), the findings suggested that due to the lockdown and reductions in employment, about half the population in Bangladesh were advancing towards extreme poverty and noticeable food insecurity, which led to increased exposure of women to IPV. It is crucial to remember that isolation and control are rudimentary tactics applied by the aggressors. An economic crisis like this has the capability to severely contribute towards a pre-existing strenuous relationship, thereby, precipitating violent occurrences (Moreira & Costa, 2020). Also, one aspect which has been observed in various previous emergencies as well, is the presence of stress being associated with an upsurge in violent episodes within a household (Nanthini & Nair, 2020; Malik & Naeem, 2020; Molyneaux et al., 2019).
Substance abuse, specifically increased alcohol consumption, has been considered to be an indirect consequence of covid-19 (Barbara et al., 2020). As the degree of uncertainty and isolation rises, unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as prevalence of harmful drinking, are being observed (Barbara et al., 2020; Ramalho, 2020; Sanchez et al., 2020) establishing this pandemic as a significant trigger for alcohol abuse. Many times, an aggressor may use their inebriation as a justified reason for their violent episodes (Averett & Wang, 2016), since, it is more socially acceptable (Bourey et al., 2013) to commit violence under the influence (Sanchez et al., 2020). In a study conducted by Averett and Wang (2016), the findings suggested that increased alcohol consumption leads to a higher propensity of about 5.2% to 6.0% engagement in violent episodes against one’s partner. Similar results have been observed in other studies as well (Barbara et al., 2020; Buttell & Ferreira, 2020; Ertan et al., 2020; Ramalho, 2020; Sanchez et al., 2020). During the current pandemic, aggressors are not only severely constraining the mobility of their victims, while putting their health at risk due to unprovoked chronic violent outbursts, but they are also, significantly establishing a perceived ‘safe haven’ as a grievous and an alarming space. Moreover, the presence of firearms and increased consumption of alcohol become the “catalysts for violence” (Sanchez et al., 2020, p. 183), as a considerable amount of people in the US were reported to buy firearms and alcohol in bulk, at the beginning of covid-19 (Opp & Mosier, 2020; Sacco et al., 2020). The emphasis of the society, in case of a domestic violence is to badger the victim by continuously asking them for their reasoning to stay. However, one aspect which tends to go neglected is the presence of stigma surrounding divorce, especially in male-dominated societies, where people expect a woman to fulfil her conventional duties, while being in regard of her husband (Bourey et al., 2013). In such scenarios, a victim is not only financially in the shackles of their aggressor but also, culturally and emotionally tied to them, thereby, severely restricting their chances of freedom from a detrimental and destructive relationship.
Markowitz (2000) and Herttua (2010) documented a relationship between alcohol prices and domestic aggression, more specifically, they identified that an increase in the prices of alcohol beverages leads to reduced domestic violence occurrences (Averett & Wang, 2016). Although interestingly, during the pandemic, prices of alcohol were reportedly upsurging (Opp & Mosier, 2020), while the cases of domestic aggression were on a rise as well (Barbara et al., 2020; Hamadani et al., 2020; Moreira & Costa, 2020; Sacco et al., 2020; Sanchez et al., 2020). Which implores the question of how escalating financial implications arising due to covid-19 impact its substantial associations with aggression and alcohol, given that socio-economic risks are predominantly being highlighted during this ongoing pandemic. Moreover, the prevalence of victim-blaming practice within male dominated societies, establishes it critical to recognise the presence of a life-threatening emergency within an existing emergency (Mazza et al., 2020) which is shackled by the weight of conventional norms regarding the stereotypical roles subsisting within a societal relationship, while significantly contributing to the prevailing stigma, regulating the practice of ‘call for help’, thereby, establishing itself as a detrimental cause for a person’s well-being.
This post was originally written for Social Psychology
References
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