When staying home isn’t safe : Australian practitioner experiences of responding to intimate partner violence during COVID-19 restrictions Naomi Pfitzner, Kate Fitz-Gibbon and Jacqui True
By: Pfitzner, Naomi
.
Contributor(s): Fitz-Gibbon, Kate | True, Jacqui.
Material type: 
ArticleSeries: Journal of Gender-Based Violence.Publisher: Policy Press, 2022Subject(s): COVID-19 | DOMESTIC VIOLENCE | FAMILY VIOLENCE | INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE | PANDEMICS | SAFETY | SUPPORT SERVICES | TECHNOLOGY | WELLBEING | WORKFORCE | INTERNATIONAL | AUSTRALIAOnline resources: DOI: 10.1332/239868021X16420024310873 (Open access)
In:
Journal of Gender-Based Violence, 2022, First published online, 21 February 2022Summary: Times of crisis are associated with increased violence against women, often with reduced access to support services. COVID-19 is no exception with public health control measures restricting people’s movements and confining many women and children to homes with their abusers. Recognising the safety risks posed by lockdowns the United Nations declared violence against women ‘the shadow pandemic’ in April 2020. In the Australian state of Victoria, residents spent over a third of 2020 in strict lockdown. Based on an online survey of 166 Victorian practitioners between April and May 2020 using rating scales and open-ended questions, our study revealed that women’s experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) intensified during lockdown. COVID-19 restrictions created new barriers to help-seeking and necessitated the rapid transition to remote service delivery models during a time of heightened risk. This article provides insights into how practitioners innovated and adapted their practices to provide continued support during a high demand. Our study exposed the significant toll responding to IPV during the pandemic is having on practitioners. We explore the impact of remote service delivery on practitioner mental health and wellbeing and the quality of care provided.
Key messages
Online capacities and service innovations implemented in crisis-mode during the COVID-19 pandemic should inform the development of responsive services systems to help prevent gender-based violence post-COVID and in future crises.
Policymakers should resource and prioritise intimate partner violence as well as other forms of gender-based violence within emergency planning and disaster response frameworks and inter-agency coordination.
This study emphasises the importance of better supporting the violence against women workforce. There is a need to increase flexible, surge support for the mental health and wellbeing of practitioners working to support victim-survivors during times of emergency. (Authors' abstract). Record #7557
| Item type | Current location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
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Access online
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Family Violence library | Online | Available | ON22030021 |
Journal of Gender-Based Violence, 2022, First published online, 21 February 2022
Times of crisis are associated with increased violence against women, often with reduced access to support services. COVID-19 is no exception with public health control measures restricting people’s movements and confining many women and children to homes with their abusers. Recognising the safety risks posed by lockdowns the United Nations declared violence against women ‘the shadow pandemic’ in April 2020. In the Australian state of Victoria, residents spent over a third of 2020 in strict lockdown. Based on an online survey of 166 Victorian practitioners between April and May 2020 using rating scales and open-ended questions, our study revealed that women’s experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) intensified during lockdown. COVID-19 restrictions created new barriers to help-seeking and necessitated the rapid transition to remote service delivery models during a time of heightened risk. This article provides insights into how practitioners innovated and adapted their practices to provide continued support during a high demand. Our study exposed the significant toll responding to IPV during the pandemic is having on practitioners. We explore the impact of remote service delivery on practitioner mental health and wellbeing and the quality of care provided.
Key messages
Online capacities and service innovations implemented in crisis-mode during the COVID-19 pandemic should inform the development of responsive services systems to help prevent gender-based violence post-COVID and in future crises.
Policymakers should resource and prioritise intimate partner violence as well as other forms of gender-based violence within emergency planning and disaster response frameworks and inter-agency coordination.
This study emphasises the importance of better supporting the violence against women workforce. There is a need to increase flexible, surge support for the mental health and wellbeing of practitioners working to support victim-survivors during times of emergency. (Authors' abstract). Record #7557
