Rising domestic violence during emergencies and the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The issue of the situation of women facing domestic violence in emergency situations, including the environmental and man-made disasters, pandemics, in general, remains poorly understood. The main body of scientific publications on the topic is represented by quantitative and qualitative research conducted in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA. Several important events have taken place in the Russian Federation over the past few years, which, in our opinion, have aggravated the issue of domestic violence: firstly, cessation of the statistical recording of offenses related to beating the family members and other close persons, therefore, the main data were obtained by the authors from non-profit organizations that provide assistance to victims of domestic violence. The second event that affected every country and territory is the COVID-19 pandemic: the first and second waves of the pandemic entailed restrictive measures, which provoked socio-economic tensions in isolation. The COVID-19 pandemic is classified as a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization Declaration. In that context, the issue of the risks of domestic violence is of particular relevance.