The Shadow Pandemic
Intimate Partner Violence throughout Italy’s first Lockdown
Being stuck at home with a physically aggressive partner during the outburst of a potentially deadly virus is a dangerous dilemma. During Italy’s first Lockdown, Thousands of women were faced with the emergence of what UN Secretary-General António Guterres called a ‘Shadow Pandemic’ of Intimate Partner Violence, alongside the global spread of Covid-19. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a subgroup of Domestic Violence and defined as ‘physical, sexual and emotional abuse and controlling behaviours by an intimate partner’ by the World Health Organisation. Apart from immediate effects on the victims’ mental and physical health, IPV can result in long-lasting psychological illnesses. Although both male and female victims suffer from IPV, violence perpetrated against women is far more prevalent.
On 11 March 2020, the global outbreak of Covid-19 was declared a pandemic. Due to the number of cases and Covid-19 patients in intensive care increasing, the Italian government imposed national restrictions on the same day. Individuals were required to work from and stay at home, with exceptions for exercise or grocery shopping. On 22 March, restrictions were tightened and only essential industries (e.g. pharmacies, groceries) were permitted to operate. The Lockdown ended on 4 May with recommendations to stay at and work from home. Between 1 March and 16 April, 5,031 valid calls were made to the national Domestic Violence and Stalking hotline — a 73% increase, compared to the same period in 2019.
Initially, calls decreased by over 50% in the first two weeks of March but then surged and stayed above the 2019-level even after movement restrictions were eased (Figure 1), with the majority of callers being women (Figure 2).
In 2019, 1,640 reported cases were related to IPV and 3,187 in 2020. Importantly, the stigma associated with IPV makes it difficult for victims to talk about their experiences, thus the number of reported cases is likely to be lower than the real number of incidents.
Why has the level of reported IPV increased this sharply?
Economic Uncertainty
Whether women can leave their abusive partner depends in part on their financial freedom. Economic insecurity makes it harder for victims to leave, all the while increasing the risk of continued violence. The national restrictions have led to economic uncertainty. 2.7 million Italians stopped work on 11 March and nearly 8 million started remote work. The tighter measures from 22 March required 5.2 million more workers to stay at home. Employment started to fall in April and the gloomy predictions made for the following year were not unfounded, with the unemployment rate reaching 11% in April 2021. Financial insecurity and the need to find new ways of distributing income can lead to stress which, as shown in a study led by Dr Menno Kruk, is positively correlated with aggression, and thereby increased risk of IPV.
Gender inequality
In a research paper from 2009, Professor Claire Renzetti argues that the prevalence of IPV is positively correlated to traditional patriarchal values of men as ‘breadwinners’ where masculinity seems to require financial success. Consequently, men might feel threatened if women are in better financial positions relative to them. Renzetti shows that in extreme cases, this can lead to economic abuse with perpetrators harming their partners in order to keep them away from work. In times of crisis, traditional gender roles are reinforced. Men, often being the primary earners, continue full-time work, leaving women who are disproportionately part-time workers anyways, to handle housework and caring responsibilities. As a result, women’s mental health worsens and stress increases. The positive correlation of stress with aggression makes violence between intimate partners thus more likely. On the 2020 Gender Equality Index from 1 (total inequality) to 100 (total equality), Italy’s score of 63.5 was slightly below the EU average with inequalities in earnings, housework and employment.
In a 2018 Italian survey of men and women aged 18–74, more than half agreed with at least one gender role stereotype. The fact that there was no significant difference in responses of men and women is important, for when women agree with these statements, they are more likely to endure or even feel that they ‘deserve’ violence. Gender stereotypes often indirectly or directly support power and subordination theories, according to which females are the weaker, less intelligent sex. When embedded in society, these stereotypes can manifest themselves in the form of gender-based violence and become more broadly accepted.
Lockdown consequences
Isolation and staying at home are supposed to keep individuals healthy but these measures simultaneously increase the risk of IPV. Unprecedented stay-at-home measures in addition to worriedness about at-risk family members or friends might increase stress. Partners spend more time together, each exposing habits previously unknown. Furthermore, individual space is limited, forcing both to not only cope with the unprecedented situation but do so with their partner close by at all times. Asking a partner to leave does not seem like a viable option during a national Lockdown. These factors lead to a rise in frustration and stress levels, fueling conflict. The close proximity of partners enabled coercive control, such as restricting contact to social networks which might explain the initial drop in calls. As victims could not make calls, the number of chat messages increased.
In addition, many victims rely on formal and informal support systems when leaving their abuser, such as shelters as well as close friends and family. Lockdown has made both nearly impossible to reach. Social distancing requirements and the need to work from home have reduced the availability of public services. This is particularly dangerous as victims of IPV face the highest risk immediately after leaving their perpetrator which can no longer be cushioned by shelters to the same extent. In Italy, shelters were often unable to help women in person due to risk of infection, leaving them to stay with their abuser and rely on the hotline. In an interview from last April, Simona Ammerata of ‘Lucha y Siesta’, a women’s shelter in Rome, stated that the processing of court orders across Italy was slowed down because funding was focused on measures to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Furthermore, courts have had to adapt to working from home. This uncertainty about the justice process creates another barrier to calling for help.
Lastly, leaving the perpetrator can be hard for female victims of IPV even under usual circumstances, but in case of the current pandemic, just by leaving their home, they face exposure to a great health risk, especially when it comes to public spaces such as a court or police station. As support from friends or family is less likely because of the demanded isolation, women are reliant on external help, which also explains the increase in calls to the national hotline.
An issue of the past?
Isolation, close proximity to the intimate partner and above all, missing social as well as reduced support networks seem to have exacerbated the stressors of economic uncertainty and underlying gender inequalities disproportionately.
The surge in IPV during Italy’s lockdown shows that gender-based violence remains an issue with acute topicality. Lessons need to be learned because for many women the risk of IPV is greater than COVID-19. Italy took steps in the right direction by funding an app to simplify contacting the police without having to speak and further supporting shelters and support systems for victims. The Shadow Pandemic has brought an ongoing societal problem to the forefront, and one can only hope that the prevention of Intimate Partner Violence is finally awarded the long-term political attention it deserves.
