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Abstract
Background Research shows violence against women likely increases during emergencies. COVID-19’s emergence exacerbated intimate partner violence (IPV), suggesting that healthcare services (HCS) should have increased IPV screening efforts and referrals of victims to support services. However, little is known about the prevalence of IPV screening and information provision during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Methods We examined prevalence of ‘ever been screened’ (ES) for IPV and ‘receiving information about support services’ (RI) in HCS during COVID-19 lockdowns and compared these among non-immigrant Jewish women, immigrant Jewish and other women, and Palestinian women citizens in Israel. We collected data during Israel’s second and third COVID-19 lockdowns (October 2020–February 2021) using a structured, online, self-administrated Arabic-language and Hebrew-language questionnaire. Eligibility criteria included women ≥18 years old, citizens of Israel, in a current intimate relationship (permanent or occasional) who used social media or smartphones. In total, 519 women completed the survey: 73 Palestinian, 127 Jewish immigrants and others, and 319 non-immigrant Jewish.
Results Overall, 37.2% of women reported any IPV, of whom just 26.9% reported ES, 39.4% reported RI and 13.5% reported both (ES&RI). Palestinian women reported higher IPV rates (49.3%) compared with non-immigrant Jewish (34.2%) and immigrant Jewish and other (37.8%) women; however, they reported lower ES (OR 0.64, 90% CI (0.34 to 1.86) and RI 0.29 (0.17 to 0.50).
Conclusions In a survey during COVID-19 lockdowns, only about one-quarter of women who reported IPV were ES for IPV, or RI about support services, suggesting strengthened IPV screening is needed in HCS during emergencies, particularly targeting minority women, who report higher IPV but receive fewer services.
- screening
- COVID-19
- violence
Data availability statement
All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as online supplemental information.
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Footnotes
Contributors ND initiated the study and was responsible for the study design and all aspects of the study. ND is the
guarantor and she accepts full responsibility for the work and/or the conduct of the study, had access to the data, and controlled the decision to publish
BA was responsible for data collection, data analysis, and writing of the findings under the supervision of ND. BA prepared the first draft of the paper together with ND. RS helped with programing the study questionnaire with REDCap. SAZ contributed with Arabic- and Hebrew-language questionnaires and other study forms, programming the questionnaires in REDCap, and data collection. All authors read and approved the last version of the paper.-
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
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