key: cord-0951640-r8doidgu
authors: Hall, Brian J.; Tucker, Joseph D.
title: Surviving in place: The coronavirus domestic violence syndemic
date: 2020-05-24
journal: Asian J Psychiatr
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102179
sha: bf96a547bb092886c6a3a670c17bb87cc3850b44
doc_id: 951640
cord_uid: r8doidgu

nan

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Approximately three billion people around the world are sheltering in place. Although this is an essential component of the COVID-19 public health emergency response, it will increase risk for a COVID-19-domestic violence syndemic. Increases in domestic violence following lockdowns have already been observed in dozens of countries. During the first eight days of lockdown in South Africa, 87,000 domestic violence calls were reported to the police (Digital, 2020) . A nongovernmental organization in Hubei Province, the COVID-19 epicenter in China, noted that domestic violence calls tripled in February 2020 compared to the same month in 2019 (Feng, 2020), which will further challenge health systems (Fang, 2019; Gan, 2020) .

Several key syndemic risk pathways link the global COVID-19 pandemic and domestic violence ( Figure 1 ). First, the stay home movement and related public health emergency response measures decrease opportunities for survivors to report violence and leave abusers. Survivors are caught with their abusers and may have additional competing demands from home schooling and other family obligations (Cluver, 2020) . Second, as health systems and governments focus attention on COVID-19 responses, the often patchwork system of existing hotlines, shelter, and other resources to address domestic violence will be further compromised. Third, COVID-19 increases the burden of anxiety and depression, delaying people from seeking services in a timely fashion. Fourth, related loss of jobs and wages coupled with a lack of control are likely to increase violence (Waters, 2004) . Finally, the lockdown environment decreases available social support and increases social isolation. 

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings: Interim Briefing Note: Addressing mental health and psychosocial aspects of COVID-19 Outbreak, Version 1.5: https://app.mhpss.net/?get=354/iasc-interimbriefing-note-on-covid-19-outbreak-readiness-and-response-operations-mhpss_0.pdf

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group for Gender in Humanitarian Action Interim Guidance: Gender Alert for COVID-19 Outbreak: https://app.mhpss.net/?get=354/interim-guidance-gender-alert-for-covid-19-outbreak-.pdf International Committee of the Red Cross: COVID-19: Inclusive Programming -Ensuring Assistance and Protection Addresses the needs of marginalized and at-risk people: https://app.mhpss.net/?get=354/icrc-paper-covid-19-inclusiveprogramming-ensuring-assistance-and-protection-addresses-the-needs-of-marginalized-and-atrisk-people.pdf

J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f WHO -Violence against Women Resources: https://www.who.int/news-room/factsheets/detail/violence-against-women UN Women -Ending Violence Against Women Resources: https://www.unwomen.org/en/whatwe-do/ending-violence-against-women Trauma Survivors Network -Resources for Survivorshttps://www.traumasurvivorsnetwork.org/pages/resources-for-survivors Chayn -Digital resources for survivors -https://chayn.co/tools/

France to put domestic abuse victims in hotels after jump in numbers. Reuters

Covid-10 Lockdown: Police Receive 87 000 Gender-Based Violence Calls

Structural Changes to Enhance Mental Health Services in China: Experience and Challenges

The authors declare no conflict of interest.The authors have no financial disclosures.The authors have no acknowledgements for this brief correspondence.

We would like to thank Shufang Wei and Huanyu Bao for creating the infographic.