A ‘Pandemic within a Pandemic’: Metro Vancouver Women’s Experience with Intimate Partner Violence during the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 public health measures exacerbated intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure among women across the world. In the current study, we examine how provincial restrictions in British Columbia influenced experiences of IPV using an intersectional framework.

A quota sample of 1,504 women residing in the Metro Vancouver Region participated in an online survey. We examined the differences between women exposed to physical IPV and unexposed women with respect to (a) sociodemographic factors, (b) IPV contextual factors, (c) access to essential services, (d) financial insecurities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (e) mental health, COVID-19-related stressors, and perceived social support.

Nearly 10% of our sample experienced IPV during the pandemic, and marginalized women (racial-ethnic minorities, sexual minorities, women with lower educational attainment) were significantly more likely to experience physical IPV victimization; a cluster analysis of social identity characteristics further indicated that marginalization predicted IPV victimization. Women exposed to physical IPV during the pandemic had higher odds of experiencing challenges accessing drug and alcohol services, domestic violence services, and legal services, and paying for housing compared to unexposed women, and reported higher levels of anxiety, depression, COVID-19-related distress, and lower levels of tangible and emotional-informational social support than unexposed women.

Results indicate disparities in exposure to and outcomes of IPV during the pandemic along existing lines of oppression.