Impact of the first national COVID-19 lockdown on referral of women experiencing domestic violence and abuse in England and Wales.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The lockdown periods to curb COVID-19 transmission have made it harder for survivors of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) to disclose abuse and access support services. Our study describes the impact of the first COVID-19 wave and the associated national lockdown in England and Wales on the referrals from general practice to the Identification and Referral to Improve Safety (IRIS) DVA programme. We compare this to the change in referrals in the same months in the previous year, during the school holidays in the 3 years preceding the pandemic and the period just after the first COVID-19 wave. School holiday periods were chosen as a comparator, since families, including the perpetrator, are together, affecting access to services.

Methods

We used anonymised data on d

SUBMITTER: Panovska-Griffiths J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8922060 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature