COVID-19 and Domestic Violence: A Possible Public Health Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown to mitigate the spread of the pandemic has led to social isolation, reduced social support system and increased cases of domestic violence against women. The United Nations and other international and national agencies speculate further increase in it and have suggested governments to take appropriate action to safeguard the health and human rights of women. Many governments have also taken steps and working towards it by starting helpline and counselling services. This article reviews the concerns raised by these agencies, interventions introduced and its future implications. It also argues that apart from reported cases of domestic violence and its negative consequences on individuals and families, it would be interesting to study the positive impact of living together as this pandemic is different from other emergencies. The sociologist Marianne Hester argued that 'domestic violence goes up whenever families spend more time together'. It would be interesting to study and examine it in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. This article also suggests the need for further research to understand the reason and dynamics of such violence considering men and women both are engaged in such violence against each other and bear its consequences together.