Unveiling the hidden pandemic: service provider perspectives on the rise in intimate partner violence (IPV) in Northwestern Ontario midst the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health concern that can affect individuals regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and geographic location (Moreira & Pinto da Costa, 2020). However, women are disproportionately represented in victimization rates worldwide with the World Health Organization reporting that on average 35% of women - more than one in three women - have experienced at least one form of physical, psychological and/or sexual violence perpetrated by an intimate partner throughout their lifetime (Moreira & Pinto da Costa, 2020; UN Women, 2020). Rural, remote and northern (RRN) regions in Canada present the highest rates of IPV and femicide compared to urban centres, while having limited availability of IPV services (Moffitt et al., 2022). In times of crisis, IPV cases increase drastically; this is documented, for example, during Hurricane Katrina and the Ebola crisis (Meinhart et al., 2021; Schumacher et al., 2010). The COVID-19 pandemic has followed this trend as the amalgamation of risk factors including heightened stress, increased rates of substance abuse, economic uncertainty due to loss of employment, and stay-at-home orders contributed to unfavourable violence-prone domestic environments across the globe (Kaukinen, 2020; Kofman et al., 2020). The primary objective of this research is to understand the challenges faced by IPV service providers and survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of Northwestern Ontario (NWO), from service providers’ perspectives. Service providers were asked to share their perspectives on the following three guiding questions: (1) What are the unique challenges that service providers and IPV survivors, as understood by service providers, in NWO have faced due to the implementation of emergency protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) How might public policy support IPV related organizations and the individuals that access their services in times of crisis such as pandemics? (3) What is needed in the development of inclusive, gendered, and equitable health policy and emergency protocols in times of crises? Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with five IPV service providers located in different communities across NWO. [...]