A new study found a link between economic stressors and domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A group of Australian researchers from Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS) surveyed 10,000 women and found that economic insecurity created a greater likelihood for sexual or physical abuse by their partners.
Authors Anthony Morgan and Dr. Hayley Boxall, from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), found “clear evidence” that job loss and financial stress were associated with both the onset and escalation of it.
The study found one in three women were temporarily laid off, lost their job, reduced their hours, or had to take a pay cut in the first 12 months of the pandemic. At least one form of economic hardship, defined as the inability to pay for essential household expenses due to shortages in money, was reported in 31 percent of respondents.
Researchers say that women with higher levels of financial stress were much more likely to have experienced physical and sexual violence or emotionally abusive, harassing, and controlling behaviors relative to women who reported low levels of financial stress in the last 12 months of the study.
“Specifically, respondents who said that they could find $2,000 within a week in an emergency, but that their partner could not, were significantly more likely than respondents in relationships where neither partner could obtain the money to have experienced sexual violence and emotionally abusive, harassing and controlling behaviors,” the authors advised.
The opposite was found to be true. Researchers found that women whose partners could obtain $2,000 in an emergency, but they could not, were also more likely to experience abuse. Employed women with unemployed partners were also more likely to experience all forms of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).
Authors cited previous research which found “men may use violence as a means of establishing control within their relationships, and mitigating any feelings of inadequacy they may have”. The study found economic hardship to be associated with both first-time and repeat violence, suggesting that it may cause IPV in some relationships and, in others, be characteristic or a consequence of the type of financial abuse experienced by victims and survivors of IPV.
Financial stress was not associated with a higher likelihood of repeat violence suggests it may have contributed to the violence, rather than being a consequence of an abusive relationship.
In the City of Chula Vista, domestic violence involves incidents with intimate partners only. According to the department, domestic violence can be a physical assault or a domestic dispute in the form of a verbal argument only.
In 2018, the Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD) established the Domestic Violence Protocol to address domestic violence across the City. Domestic violence is one of the top crimes in the city, ranking as the top two types of police call for service.
According to the CVPD, there are more than 3,700 domestic violence incidents each year, with about 1,200 of those incidents resulting in actual crimes.
In July 2021, the CVPD saw a peak in domestic violence, with 422 domestic violence incidents reported, according to the department's database.
The Chula Vista Police Department encourages domestic violence victims to call the police if they are in fear for their safety or to file a report for a prior incident. Victims may contact South Bay Community Services at (800-640-2933), which provides support services, such as counseling, case management, and treatment — as well as housing for victims and children exposed to violence.
