Stay Home, Stay Safe? The Impact of the COVID-19 Restrictions on the Prevalence, Nature, and Type of Reporter of Domestic Violence in the Netherlands

PURPOSE: Insecurities and social isolation resulting from the COVID-19 restrictions, may have elevated tensions at home, consequently increasing the risk of domestic violence. The present study aims to examine changes in the prevalence, nature, and type of reporter of domestic violence following the various restrictions implemented to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the Netherlands. METHODS: All official domestic violence reports recorded by the 26 Dutch domestic violence agencies in 2019 and 2020 were collected and analyzed. Time-series forecasting analyses, using a SARIMAX model, were conducted to predict the trend of domestic violence reports during the first lockdown and to compare the predicted trend with the observed trend. RESULTS: The observed trend of the registered prevalence of domestic violence did not substantially differ from the predicted trend based on pre-pandemic data. Similarly, findings regarding the nature of domestic violence suggest no clear divergence of pre-pandemic trends during the lockdown period. Nonetheless, a shift was found from professional reporters (e.g., the police) to non-professional reporters (e.g., neighbors). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of domestic violence reports in the Netherlands did not increase. However, the COVID-19 restrictions may have led citizens, especially neighbors, to detect domestic violence more often.