DV offenders ‘weaponising’ Covid-19 lockdowns: Research

Restrictions introduced in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic are intensifying dangerous domestic violence situations, researchers have found.

Domestic violence perpetrators are “weaponising” Covid-19 conditions like lockdowns to intensify their controlling and coercive behaviours, Queensland researchers have found.

More than two thirds of domestic violence service providers also reported an increase in the number of victims seeking help for the first.

The findings of the QUT Centre for Justice research, led by Professor Kerry Carrington, is in line with the growing body of evidence that pandemic conditions are impacting the severity and prevalence of domestic violence in the country.

The peer-reviewed paper, published in the Australian Journal of Social Issues today, surveyed 362 domestic violence service providers with nearly half of the respondents based in Queensland.

DV service providers say perpetrators are exploiting Covid-19 restrictions. Generic file picture

One in 10 providers reported abusers were finding “new ways of emotionally and psychologically” abusing victims during Covid-19, including by intensely monitoring the day-to-day movements of victims.

One councillor revealed a victim told them “she couldn’t take a shower without her abuse watching and monitoring her”.

The research unearthed that “controlling and coercive behaviours were being experienced with greater intensity and severity”, including “more severe forms of physical abuse such as strangulation”.

“Service providers indicated that perpetrators used Covid-19 restrictions to resist returning children to their mothers, to make complaints to welfare services about the ability of their mothers to care for their children during lockdown and even to threaten to give their children Covid in retaliation,” the report stated.

Prof Carrington had discussed the research findings at the national women’s summit — which aimed to bring together advocates, experts and survivors to help shape the next national plan to reduce violence against women and their children.

The researchers found that Covid-19 public health measures were necessary to stop the spread of the virus but also increased the domestic violence risk for women and gave abusers more opportunities to be worse.

They concluded governments should better plan for increases in domestic violence during periods of disaster, like the pandemic or fire and flood.

Originally published as DV offenders ‘weaponising’ Covid-19 lockdowns: Research