COVID-19 AND ITS IMPACTS ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CRIME RATES

Abstract

“Violence has always been ongoing”. - Ben Domestic violence has always been a prevalent problem in society. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of domestic violence became increasingly prominent, due to the changes in different factors like pandemic restrictions causing increased stress levels, lifestyle changes and also more active campaigns raising awareness and empowering more victims to speak up. More often than not, the domestic violence crime rates represent the rates of reporting by victims, and more specifically, the first-time reporting of domestic violence. While it is often assumed that the increase in domestic violence crime rates are tied directly to the occurrence of violence, this is not always the case. The paper looks at debunking this common misconception when it comes to the relationship between COVID-19 and the increase in domestic violence crime rates, by analysing other factors, such as the changes in the initiatives and campaigns against domestic violence that was prominent during the COVID-19 situation. The geographical scope of the paper is limited to that of Singapore, with the focus placed on the Circuit Breaker period in 2020. There are two main ways to understand the increase in the domestic violence crime rates, which are looking at the possibility of an increase in the incidence of domestic violence, as well as the increase in motivating factors for victims to speak up. The research paper features both primary and secondary research, with quantitative data obtained from institutionalised sources and qualitative data obtained from interviews with a social worker working frontline in a Family Violence Specialist Centre (FVSC). Through the respective research done, the paper explored the changes brought about by COVID-19 in terms of lifestyle and habits to better understand the possibility of the increase in domestic violence that started during COVID-19. Additionally, the paper also looked at external factors that could have encouraged victims that were already suffering from domestic violence to make their first report against their perpetrators. The paper found out that while there might have been increases in the start of domestic violence that was influenced by COVID-19, a lot of the reports also came from victims finally taking a step against the domestic violence situation inflicted on them. To tie the situation of domestic violence and COVID-19 to each other, the paper looks into the different sociological concepts and frameworks to analyse and explain the different phenomenon observed in Singapore. These include understanding the power dynamics within the household that leads to domestic violence, and how the COVID-19 situation exacerbated the domestic violence situation here. The paper aims to understand the relationship between domestic violence and COVID-19, by linking these to the greater sociological context.