Locked Down: Experiences of Domestic Violence in Central India

INTRODUCTION: The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) data show that 31.1% of women faced domestic violence in 2015–2016, with no reduction since 2005–2006. Emerging data show that since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), reports of intimate partner violence have increased worldwide because of mandatory lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus. The nature of the current pandemic, which has forced women to spend time with their abusers and restricted their mobility, has made them more vulnerable to abuse. We aimed to determine the proportion of domestic violence among Indian women during the lockdown period. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study, conducted in June–August 2020 on married, Indian women of reproductive age who attended the obstetrics-gynecology outpatient department during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Abuse Assessment Screening questionnaire validated during NFHS-4 (2015–2016) was used as a data collection tool. Our primary objective was to determine the proportion of women presenting to the hospital who were exposed to domestic violence during the lockdown period. Analysis was done using SPSS Statistics V22.0. RESULTS: A total of 412 women were recruited for the study. The mean age was 23 years (range 19–52 years). The prevalence of domestic violence in any form was found to be 32.5%, with the majority being verbal abuse in the form of insults, threats of physical violence, or public humiliation. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated a high proportion of women with a history of domestic violence during the pandemic. Thus, health care policy makers and experts involved in women’s care—particularly during crisis conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic—should be aware of the extent of this problem and take measures to properly address it.