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Experiences of Women Accessing Violence Against Women Outreach Services in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Brief Report.
- Source :
- Journal of Family Violence; Jul2023, Vol. 38 Issue 5, p997-1005, 9p, 3 Charts, 1 Graph
- Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on violence against women (VAW), including increased prevalence and severity, and on VAW service delivery. The purpose of this research was to study women's experiences with VAW services in the first stages of the pandemic and describe their fears and concerns. This cross-sectional study was conducted from May through October 2020. Our VAW agency partners across Ontario, Canada invited women using outreach services to participate in a study about their experiences during the pandemic. In total, 49 women from 9 agencies completed an online survey. Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and open-ended responses are presented to supplement findings. Women's experiences with VAW services during the pandemic varied greatly; some found technology-facilitated services (phone, video, text) more accessible, while others hoped to return to in-person care. Over half of women reported poorer wellbeing, access to health care, and access to informal supports. Many women reported increased relationship-related fears, some due specifically to COVID-19 factors. Our results support providing a variety of technology-based options for women accessing VAW services when in-person care options are reduced. This research also adds to the scant literature examining how some perpetrators capitalized on the pandemic by using new COVID-19-specific forms of coercive control. Although the impacts of the pandemic on women varied, our findings highlight how layers of difficulty, such as less accessible formal and informal support, as well as increased fear – can compound to make life for women experiencing abuse exceptionally difficult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- PSYCHOLOGY of abused women
BUSINESS management of health facilities
HEALTH services accessibility
SOCIAL support
COVID-19
CROSS-sectional method
MEDICAL care
FEAR
VIOLENCE
QUANTITATIVE research
PATIENTS' attitudes
SEVERITY of illness index
SURVEYS
HOPE
RESEARCH funding
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
HEALTH
COVID-19 pandemic
INFORMATION technology
CONTROL (Psychology)
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 08857482
- Volume :
- 38
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Family Violence
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 164432887
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-022-00398-2