Opinion: Rising to the challenge of screening for intimate partner violence during Covid-19
Health care providers play an essential role in halting the cycle of intimate partner violence by asking their patients if they are experiencing domestic abuse, reviewing available prevention and referral options, and offering ongoing support. But Covid-19 is making intimate partner violence more likely even as it makes each of those steps more difficult.
Before the pandemic, intimate partner violence was already a national public health crisis. The CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, updated in 2015, found that 34.6% of women and 33.6% of men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetimes. The survey also showed that 21.4% of women and 14.9% of men who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) have suffered severe physical violence by an intimate partner — like being hit with a fist or something hard, beaten, or slammed against something.
