Domestic violence and abuse, coronavirus, and the media narrative

Williamson, E., Lombard, N. and Brooks-Hay, O. (2020) Domestic violence and abuse, coronavirus, and the media narrative. Journal of Gender-Based Violence, 4(2), pp. 289-294. (doi: 10.1332/239868020x15893043718030) (PMID:32934437) (PMCID:PMC7483056)

Abstract

Following lockdowns in countries around the world, reports emerged of a ‘surge’ or ‘spikes’ in the number of domestic violence and abuse cases. It is critical to contextualise this: more men are not starting to be abusive or violent; rather, the patterns of abuse are becoming more frequent. Spiking and surging make us think in terms of more one-off incidents but it is more likely that the pattern of abuse that is already there is increasing in terms of frequency and type because both parties remain together at all times. Amid such a crisis, it is imperative that we continue to see the dynamics of domestic violence and abuse as both a pattern of abusive behaviours and a product of gendered social and cultural norms, rather than a reaction to a specific factor or event, such as COVID-19.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Brooks, Dr Oona
• Authors: Williamson, E., Lombard, N., and Brooks-Hay, O.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
• Journal Name: Journal of Gender-Based Violence
• Publisher: Policy Press
• ISSN: 2398-6808
• ISSN (Online): 2398-6816
• Published Online: 22 May 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 Centre for Gender and Violence Research
• First Published: First published in Journal of Gender-Based Violence 4(2):289-294
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher