Collaborative Research: The Impact of Covid-19 on Victimization Risk and Service Needs for Domestic Violence Victims and Survivors

There is increasing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated domestic violence. There are many commendable and promising programs to respond to domestic violence, but it is not known how these programs cope in the pandemic environment to serve domestic violence victims and survivors, and especially individuals from diverse backgrounds and living in disadvantaged communities.

This collaborative study builds a nationwide inventory of domestic violence victim programs including critical information about these programs' services. It will also generate critical knowledge on strongest predictors of domestic violence and strategies for efficient service provision and servicing underserved populations. This study will address the urgent need for programmatic research to advance the knowledge of domestic violence risks posed by COVID-19 and the availability and accessibility of nationwide resources for victims and survivors.

The project integrates a multidisciplinary theoretical framework and a Rapid Assessment Methodology to understand the multifaceted nature of domestic violence. The theoretical framework includes criminological, epidemiological, public health, service advocacy perspectives. This study will also assess the service needs of domestic violence victims to identify nationwide proactive and protective interventions against domestic violence.

This study will use a mixed-methods study design and its objectives are to: (1) determine the known risk factors of domestic violence which have heightened during COVID-19 and new COVID-19 related risk factors for domestic violence; (2) identify protective factors against domestic violence during COVID-19; (3) identify the immediate and long-term needs of survivors based on their demographics; (4) compile an up to date inventory of all domestic violence programs nationwide to assess service needs; (5) demonstrate the special service needs of victims and survivors for mitigating risks and prevention, and (6) translate the research findings and transfer the knowledge to the practitioner and scholarly communities nationwide. The study will gather data on existing services for domestic violence victims and survivors; COVID-19 related domestic violence risk factors and service needs; and the barriers in providing and accessing services.

The data will be collected via interviews, focus groups discussions, and a survey with victim service providers across the US. This study will produce evidence that will benefit practitioners, policymakers, and researchers working in the fields of victim services, public health, law enforcement, and community resilience.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.