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. 2023 May 26;23(1):965.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15785-7.

Working from home and intimate partner violence among cis-women during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from a global, cross-sectional study

Naomi Miall  1 , Suzanna C Francis  2 , Heidi Stöckl  3 , Joseph D Tucker  4   5
Affiliations

Working from home and intimate partner violence among cis-women during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from a global, cross-sectional study

Naomi Miall et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) may have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis aimed to determine how employment disruption during COVID-19, including working from home, was associated with IPV experience among cis-gendered women.

Methods: The International Sexual Health and Reproductive health (I-SHARE) study is a cross-sectional online survey implemented in 30 countries during the pandemic. Samples used convenience, online panel, and population-representative methods. IPV was a pre-specified primary outcome, measured using questions from a validated World Health Organisation instrument. Conditional logistic regression modelling was used to quantify the associations between IPV and changes to employment during COVID-19, adjusted for confounding.

Results: 13,416 cis-gender women, aged 18-97, were analysed. One third were from low and middle income countries, and two thirds from high income countries. The majority were heterosexual (82.7%), educated beyond secondary-level (72.4%) and childless (62.7%). During COVID-19 33.9% women worked from home, 14.6% lost employment, and 33.1% continued to work on-site. 15.5% experienced some form of IPV. Women working from home experienced greater odds of IPV than those working on-site (adjusted OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.12-1.74, p = 0.003). This finding was robust independent of sampling strategy and country income. The association was primarily driven by an increase in psychological violence, which was more prevalent than sexual or physical violence. The association was stronger in countries with high gender inequality.

Conclusions: Working from home may increase IPV risk globally. Workplaces offering working from home should collaborate with support services and research interventions to strengthen resiliency against IPV.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; Domestic abuse; Employment; Homeworking.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Co-occurrence of physical violence, sexual violence, emotional violence and controlling behaviour Legend: Overlap between different forms of intimate partner violence experienced during COVID-19 social distancing measures amongst 1392 cis-gendered women who experienced any IPV during this period, and for whom data was available for all four types of violence in the I-SHARE 2020-21 survey. Please note the area under the curve does not correspond to the proportion represented
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Association between employment changes during COVID-19 and intimate partner violence among cis-women Legend: Association between different forms of intimate partner violence experienced during COVID-19 social distancing measures, and working from home or losing employment during this period, amongst cis-gendered women who participated in the I-SHARE 2020-21 survey and responded to variables included in the model (N = 8362). Those who continued in the same work and site or were retired during the pandemic are the reference group. The estimates are adjusted for country, age group, whether the participant experienced IPV in the three months before COVID-19, employment status before COVID-19 and cannabis use frequency before COVID-19 measures. The black bars show the 95% confidence intervals
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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