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. 2022 Oct;28(12-13):3114-3134.
doi: 10.1177/10778012211054869. Epub 2021 Dec 3.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Needs and Lived Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence Survivors in the United States: Advocate Perspectives

Maya I Ragavan  1 , Lauren Risser  2 , Virginia Duplessis  3 , Sarah DeGue  4 , Andrés Villaveces  4 , Tammy P Hurley  5 , Judy Chang  6 , Elizabeth Miller  2 , Kimberly A Randell  7
Affiliations

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Needs and Lived Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence Survivors in the United States: Advocate Perspectives

Maya I Ragavan et al. Violence Against Women. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

We explored the challenges and lived experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic by interviewing 53 U.S.-based IPV advocates between June and November 2020. Advocates described how the COVID-19 pandemic limited survivors' abilities to meet their basic needs. The pandemic was also described as being used by abusive partners to perpetrate control and has created unique safety and harm reduction challenges. IPV survivors experienced compounding challenges due to structural inequities. IPV must be considered by local, state, and federal governments when developing disaster planning policies and practices, including in the context of pandemics.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; intimate partner violence; intimate partner violence advocates; semi-structured interviews; structural inequities; the United States.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicts of Interest

The authors do not have any conflicts of interest to disclose. The findings and conclusions in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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