COVID and domestic abuse

A major consequence of the COVID pandemic has been that many crimes of domestic abuse and violence have become invisible, says Associate Professor Elspeth McInnes, sociologist and researcher from the University of South Australia.

Not only did lockdown and social isolation measures force couples and families into closer proximity for longer periods of time allowing tensions to escalate, it also reduced the opportunities for victims to access resources as well as removing affected adults and children from visibility, where someone such as a schoolteacher, counsellor or health professional might intervene or at least offer to intervene.