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Introduction

On January 31st, 2020, the World Health Organization issued an international public health emergency after the global death toll for the COVID-19 virus jumped from 200 to 9,800 cases; only the sixth time the organization has ever done so (AJMC, 2021). Over the next few weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic had begun to radically change the livelihoods of people around the world (UNODC, 2020). By April 2020, more than half of the global population was experiencing some form of lockdown (UNODC, 2020), and in the following months countries began to reinforce a broad spectrum of restrictions, from border closure to stay-at-home orders. A year later, the pandemic continues. By April 2021, the cumulative total of cases reached over 146 million worldwide (Coronavirus Resource Center, 2021).

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Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Map (Coronavirus Resource Center, 2021)

In Illinois, as of April 25, 2021, there are just over 1.3 million cases and approximately 24,000 deaths (Coronavirus Resource Center, 2021). Cook County currently ranks third in COVID-19 cases in the United States, with approximately half a million cases and almost 10,000 deaths (Coronavirus Resource Center, 2021).

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Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Status Report for Cook County, Illinois (Coronavirus Resource Center, 2021)

Due to the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent impacts on almost every part of public and private life, scholarship has quickly pivoted in response (Miller & Blumstein, 2020). Real-time data is now being collected on a vast range of issues, including unemployment, mental health, substance abuse, and exposure to violence (Anurudran, Yared, Comrie, Harrison, & Burke, 2020). We have chosen to focus on just one of these issues: domestic violence.

 

According to the US Department of Justice, “domestic violence” refers to “violence toward current or former intimate partners, any family members, or anyone with whom the perpetrator shares a home” (McLay, 2021). In the United States, as many as 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men are victims of domestic violence, though these statistics may be inaccurate due to underreporting (Huecker, King, Jordan, & Smock, 2021). Domestic violence has devastating immediate and long-term effects on its victims, including physical injuries, worsened mental health, decreased quality of life, and even mortality (Anurudran, Yared, Comrie, Harrison, & Burke, 2020). These impacts may be magnified within the context of the pandemic.

 

While contagion containment measures and stay-at-home orders have helped to reduce the spread of COVID-19, recent scholarship and research suggests that victims of domestic abuse have become increasingly vulnerable (Evans, Lindauer, & Farrell, 2020; Usher, Bhullar, Durkin, Gyamfi, & Jackson, 2020). Furthermore, isolation, along with psychological stressors and financial insecurity, may be a catalyst for stress that result in unprecedented violence in at-risk relationships (Usher, Bhullar, Durkin, Gyamfi, & Jackson, 2020). Therefore, home is often not always a safe environment for victims of domestic violence, but rather increases their risk for further violence and isolates them from their support network (Anurudran, Yared, Comrie, Harrison, & Burke, 2020). 

 

In places such as Illinois, where public officials quickly employed strict stay-at-home measures, changes in access to necessary resources and isolation may be felt more intensely. In late March of 2020, the state shut down public schools and prohibited social gatherings with individuals outside of one’s direct household, frequently leaving victims trapped with abusers (Petrella, Clair, Johnson, & Pratt, 2020). Despite a victim's ability to seek help, they are likely to experience limited access to abuse hotlines and other resources as first responders, service providers, and mandated reporters experience a shortage of workers, and the availability of shelters or alternative housing sources is restricted (McLay, 2021). Consequently, victims are unable to obtain support and harm reduction during this public health crisis. 

 

Not only have COVID-19 isolation measures and stressors directly impacted instances of abuse, they have magnified other known predictors of domestic violence. In their article, Evans et al. evaluate the impacts of COVID-19 on intimate partner violence, and found issues relating to domestic violence included, but were not limited to: economic instability, unsafe housing, neighbourhood violence, and lack of safe and stable child care and social support (Evans, Lindauer, & Farrell, 2020). Due to the complex nature of domestic violence, we cannot seek to address it without also addressing important demographic and social factors, particularly within the context of this global pandemic.

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