COVID-19: a public health approach to manage domestic violence is needed

Type Journal Article Author Joht Singh Chandan Author Julie Taylor Author Caroline Bradbury-Jones Author Krishnarajah Nirantharakumar Author Eddie Kane Author Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay URL https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lanpub/PIIS2468-2667(20)30112-2.pdf Rights Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license Series The Lancet Correspondence Volume 5 Publication The Lancet Public Health Date 08/05/2020 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/ S2468-2667(20)30112-2 Abstract The negative consequential effects of the measures adopted by the UK and other countries to tackle the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on society are beginning to unfold. An area of concern is the impending crisis of domestic violence—gender-based violence and child abuse and neglect, due to movement restrictions, loss of income, isolation, overcrowding, and stress and anxiety, all which put women and children at a disproportionally increased risk of harm.1 This increased risk is not surprising. Previous epidemics, such as the Ebola virus disease outbreak in west Africa,2 but also cholera and Zika virus disease outbreaks, led to regional environments where domestic violence became more prevalent; there were reductions in funding for specialist gender-based violence public health services; and, for survivors of gender-based violence, there was reduced access to health-care services.