Public Health Aspects of Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence Abuse and Trauma (DIVAT) during COVID-19 Quarantine: Imbalanced Power Dynamic and Sexual, Emotional, and Psychological Abuse

This article examines predisposing, precipitating, perpetuating, and protective factors of/for Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence Abuse and Trauma (DIVAT) during COVID-19 lockdown and quarantine, specifically imbalance power dynamic, sexual abuse, and emotional and psychological manipulation. This article further presents public health and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to protect women’s rights through humanistic ways of solidarity. And finally, it discusses solution-focused and trauma-informed responding to public health paradigm through mental health counseling for survivors of abuse.

DIVAT During COVID-19

Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence Abuse and Trauma is defined as physical, sexual, financial, psychological, and/or emotional abuse inflicted by intimate, marital, or dating partners during or after a relationship. ¹ Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence Abuse and Trauma includes social ostracizing; cultural, identity, stalking/harassing, and digital aspects; and controlling, coercive, and manipulative behaviors in relationships.

During the COVID-19 quarantine period, victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) were forced to remain with abusive partners, which further exacerbated domestic violence. ¹ COVID-19 quarantine exposed gendered aspects of the pandemic, mainly DIVAT, which has consequentially perpetuated psychological trauma in women. Domestic violence or IPV disproportionately affects women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Identified risks indicators for IPV include lower socioeconomic status, inadequate social support, unawareness to seek help, mental illness, younger age, financial dependency, and employment status. ¹ Intimate partner violence is also linked with gender, cultural, and psychological variables such as heterosexual marriage, male-bodied, and narcissistic patterns of behavior.^2,3 COVID-19 lockdown and other infection-reducing measures of quarantine have heightened not only the risk of domestic violence due to home isolation, but COVID-19 misinfodemics (conspiracy theories) has increased the psychological tension (Figure 1).^4,5 Power dynamic aspects of IPV abuse include gaslighting (a type of psychological/emotional abuse aimed at making victims seem or feel “crazy” by creating a “surreal” interpersonal environment), reproductive abuse (stealthing, pregnancy coercion), sexual abuse (grooming, young women partners with disconcerting age difference, shaming/guilt-tripping), male entitlement/sex entitlement, and emotional blackmail (stonewalling). Without an understanding of the imbalanced inequality of power in relationship violence (grooming, co-dependency, love-bombing, gaslighting, nonconsensual condom removal, stonewalling, covert putdowns, backhanded comments, isolation, minimizing, micromanaging victims’ lives, weaponized incompetency, and passive aggressive microaggression), service (health, social, legal) providers might be less equipped to function in the ever-changing dynamics of domestic/IPV, abuse, and trauma coupled with the pandemic’s aftereffects. ⁶

Figure 1.

Few contributing factors of DIVAT during the pandemic.

Abbreviation: DIVAT, Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence Abuse and Trauma.

Public Health Facilitation and SDGs

There are nearly 2000 IPV organizations offering support services to survivors of intimate partner and domestic violence in multiple states of the United States. ⁷ Mental health facilitators, social workers, psychologists, and health care practitioners play a key role in these organizations assisting survivors of IPV with the aftereffects of violence under Goal 5 (Gender Equality and Women and Girls’ Empowerment) of SDGs—a set of global objectives for improving the health and well-being of the planet and its inhabitants.^8,9 Health care providers possessed resources to integrate consciousness-raising and support system with a mutual aid to help vulnerable segments of community address diverse problems. Public health workers and health care facilitators could use this association to unfold the imbalanced structures of the group/culture/community/society. ¹⁰ Psychotherapeutic counselors could offer facilitation of safe-space to disclose fears and stigmas attached to DIVAT—and encourage the personal and collective growth process by cultivating hope, resilience, and solidarity among survivors.

Assessment and Management of Victims and Survivors of DIVAT Post-COVID-19

Most people who experience emotional and psychological aspects of violence and abuse in IPV do not usually seek help. In medical profession, these individuals are identified in health care settings and offer to provide counseling and connect people with social services (social workers, safety planning, psychological intervention). Mental health care profession is a safe place for these individuals to disclose abuse. Physical screening report and their behavior while discussing physically intimate components of breasts, pelvic, or rectal examination, psychosocial factors, mental health status, and aggressive partner can be warning signs of multiple forms of IPV. ⁵

This article proposed various capacities and certain steps to promote equitable and sustainable access to psychosocial, health, and legal services. First, when IPV is revealed, the medical practitioners can establish signs to identify the threat of an abuser. Such interventions could include physical or verbal phrases (safe word) of safety practices in case of an emergency situation to safeguard their well-being. Second, community’s collective solidarity could ensure confidential access of social support for victims and safeguard for survivors. And finally, mental health care practitioners and social workers can normalize psychological assessment and management (blueprint) and offer psycho-education regardless of the disclosure of intimate partner abuse.

Pandemic, Perseverance, and Perspective-Taking

Mental health care facilitators with better understanding of psychosocial and emotional stressors accompanied by abuse and violence (domestic violence, IPV, gaslighting abuse, love-bombing, nonconsensual condom removal, controlling, reproductive coercion, emotional abuse, psychological manipulation, religious exploitation, cultural gender-role stereotypes, and so forth) would facilitate support to unravel patterns of abusive dynamics among victims and survivors. Mental health care practitioners’ and social workers’ bidirectional skill development (psychosocial-psychoeducational services and collective solidarity) indicates that empowered individuals would be better equipped to undertake personal (meaningful life) and collective (solidarity) group action. ² Involvement of health care practitioners in public health facilitation is more about empowerment and social support—for survivors to be involved and actively participate for the individual’s well-being, decision-making, and progress of the community (Figure 2). Individual perspective-taking and collective perseverance through solidarity practices could facilitate both liberation and freedom to promote multifaceted groups (victims and survivors of IPV). Social service providers can succeed in changing communities’ consciousness (understanding of power dynamic within relationships) and their surroundings (safety, service availability, and sustainable well-being).

Figure 2.

Mental health awareness (information-education-communication) and psycho-education (integrating social and public health systems).