The COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a considerable public health problem that has garnered increased attention in the past several years. Prevalence rates of IPV in the United States are high, with upwards of one in three women and nine men experiencing IPV during their lifetime (Smith et al., 2018). The onset of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic brought statewide stay at home directives and nationwide recommendations for social distancing that aim to reduce infections but are also likely to inadvertently influence intimate partners and families in ways that increase rates and consequences of IPV. Indeed, previous research has shown that violence increases during and after disease outbreaks (Peterman et al., 2020), but little is written about reasons for the surges. Thus, this paper serves to discuss reasons for a rise in IPV experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and current and future opportunities for prevention and intervention.