CCIS Spotlight: Intimate Partner Violence

The COVID Community Impact Survey (CCIS) Intimate Partner Violence Spotlight highlights the inequities and experiences of intimate partner violence during the pandemic and associated impacts on health.

Summary of key findings

• Massachusetts residents who reported experiencing intimate partner violence during the pandemic face many hardships that make their situation even more difficult.
• Rural residents - who live in greater isolation, and further from urban resources and transit options - are more likely to have experienced intimate partner violence. This has implications for solutions that aim to address structural barriers.
• Those who reported experiencing intimate partner violence also commonly reported struggles to maintain stable housing and a stable income - both facilitators of being able to leave abusive relationships 
  • People who experienced intimate partner violence during the pandemic were seven times as likely to report they may need to leave their home due to violence but were also worried about their ability to access stable housing and afford housing-related expenses.
  • People who experienced intimate partner violence during the pandemic were more likely to report job loss or having to take a leave of absence – making both stable income and the ability to leave the violent situation harder to reach.
• People who experienced intimate partner violence during the pandemic were almost twice as likely to report poor mental health. This was particularly true for survivors reported experiencing discrimination, these survivors also reported more PTSD-like reactions attributed to COVID-19.
• People who experienced intimate partner violence during the pandemic were more likely to experience delays in both urgent and routine care due to structural barriers like lack of transportation, phone/technology, insurance coverage and/or cost, and American with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodations.

Spotlight slides and webinar

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