COVID-19, Lockdown, and Intimate Partner Violence: Some Data from an Italian Service and Suggestions for Future Approaches
COVID-19, Lockdown, and Intimate Partner Violence: Some Data from an Italian Service and Suggestions for Future Approaches
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DOI：
10.1089/jwh.2020.8590
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发表时间：
2020-10-02
影响因子：
3.5
通讯作者：
Kustermann, Alessandra
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Barbara, Giussy;Facchin, Federica;Kustermann, Alessandra
亲密伴侣暴力(IPV)--定义为女性在家中通常经历的身体、心理、性和/或经济暴力，以及她们的伴侣或前伴侣犯下的暴力--是一种普遍存在的暴力形式，破坏了女性的爱、信任和自尊，对身心健康造成严重的负面后果。来自多个国家的许多报告强调，在新冠肺炎突发事件期间，肺炎病例显著增加。在这篇评论文章中，我们讨论了这样一种假设，即这种增加可能与为控制疫情而采取的限制性措施有关，包括女性被迫与施虐的伴侣同居，以及在封锁期间加剧伴侣先前存在的心理障碍。此外，我们回顾分析了我们在意大利一家公共性暴力和家庭暴力咨询中心(性暴力和家庭暴力服务[SVSeD])的实践中获得的一些数据。这些数据有趣地揭示了一个相反的趋势，即自新冠肺炎疫情爆发以来，寻求帮助的女性人数有所减少。这种减少应被解释为与大流行病有关的限制性措施的负面后果。虽然这些措施是必要的，但减少了妇女向反暴力中心和/或紧急服务寻求帮助的可能性。由于新冠肺炎疫情的爆发，迫切需要为IPV受害者制定和实施替代治疗方案(例如在线和电话咨询以及远程医疗)，以及为卫生保健专业人员，特别是在急诊科工作的卫生保健专业人员提供培训方案，以促进早期发现IPV。
Intimate partner violence (IPV)-defined as physical, psychological, sexual, and/or economic violence typically experienced by women at home and perpetrated by their partners or expartners-is a pervasive form of violence that destroys women's feelings of love, trust, and self-esteem, with important negative consequences on physical and psychological health. Many reports from several countries have underlined a remarkable increase in the cases of IPV during the COVID-19 emergency. In this opinion article, we discussed the hypothesis that such an increase may be related to the restrictive measures enacted to contain the pandemic, including women's forced cohabitation with the abusive partner, as well as the exacerbation of partners' pre-existing psychological disorders during the lockdown. In addition, we retrospectively analyzed some data derived from our practice in a public Italian referral center for sexual and domestic violence (Service for Sexual and Domestic Violence [SVSeD]). These data interestingly revealed an opposite trend, that is, a decrease in the number of women who sought assistance since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Such a reduction should be interpreted as a negative consequence of the pandemic-related restrictive measures. Although necessary, these measures reduced women's possibilities of seeking help from antiviolence centers and/or emergency services. Owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, there is an urgent need for developing and implementing alternative treatment options for IPV victims (such as online and phone counseling and telemedicine), as well as training programs for health care professionals, especially those employed in emergency departments, to facilitate early detection of IPV.