During the past months of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have always said: Stay home. Stay safe. The home is the place where you should feel safe and perhaps even being in it means, first of all you are in a place dear to you and totally protected.
Despite the necessity to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), measures such as social distancing, travel restrictions and the closure of community institutions at some point during the pandemic are likely to have had a role in some way in increasing rates of family violence in most countries. One of the many unfortunate consequences of the pandemic is the escalation of family violence between spouses or against children.
It is undoubtedly behaviour intended to provoke fear or cause harm, whether physically or psychologically, or generate a feeling of humiliation leading to a threat. And here it certainly appears to us as observers, in light of the changes that we have witnessed during this pandemic, how many spouses are in one place all the time, and the resulting collision may result in the presence of children increasing the burden on the spouses and the emergence of conflict and violence between them sometime.
We can say that those significant changes that have occurred in our routine lives, such as social distancing guidelines and safety protocols, have led to isolation for most people. Not to mention that most of those patients who entered a quarantine as a result of being infected with the virus, or committed to social distancing, may develop symptoms of anger, confusion and post-traumatic stress syndrome. In addition to other societies whose members begin to use narcotic substances while they are subjected to home quarantine, for instance.
The families in particular face additional stress resulting from working from home and caring for children, either by helping them in school or by keeping them occupied during the summer months. Especially since there are definitely families who have also been affected financially or lost their job with its financial concerns, as well as the loss of social relationship and activities, which we all undoubtedly yearn for.
Some studies have indicated that the rate of domestic or family violence has increased by 20 per cent in the world during the pandemic. Moreover, schools may remain closed during the coming months and virtual learning continues as this debate continues in plain sight. Children often respond to stress and lose their usual routine with changes in behaviours such as tantrums and withdrawals. Besides crying and sleeping difficulties, they may not understand why they feel this way. Parents may misunderstand these behaviours as intentional, when in fact they are symptoms of stress.
It is important to realise that the risks may be exacerbated by the additional pressures that cause many parents to continue working full-time during this period of the pandemic. As such, parents leave their home to work; children face an increased risk of neglect (a lack of adequate supervision to prevent children from harming). Whereas when working from home, parents with young children are forced to try to fulfil the requirements of working while caring for those young kids at the same time.
Certainly, such changes in routine are annoying, confusing, and difficult for young kids. We sometimes see an increase in oppositional behaviour from the child and such behaviours are likely to provoke harsh reactions from parents and may lead to violence, abuse and neglect... and this leads me to an important question whether these pressures lead finally, to domestic or family violence, or did it help create a tense atmosphere at home? Will marital relations last during the pandemic, and how will they be after?
In fact, with the social distancing in the pandemic period, the harmony of family members supposed to increase, as they spend longer with their families. But have various reports and media reached out to the effect that there is an increase in family violence during the pandemic, blaming only social and physical distancing, or can we say that the causes are the same before the pandemic, but rather it increased in intensity with the pandemic?
Not to mention that domestic violence here does not stop at women only, or as we mentioned earlier among children, but it may be from children over their parents as a result of undermining their freedoms as they claim during the closure period in the past period, for instance, or through social distancing. Sadly, they get rid of negative energy by using violence as a way to impose control and emptying waves of anger.
It is clear that domestic violence has become a worrisome social issue and it may be an exceptional case during this pandemic, in which the conditions of the people have changed and this issue slowly infiltrated their life, accompanied by the spectre of coronavirus destroying the peace of families.
Consequently, it became necessary to create adequate awareness about the increased risks of violence during the pandemic or even crises and highlight the need for people to stay in contact with each other (taking into account the precautionary measures) and of course the great importance of reporting any fears of abuse.
It is also important to remember that maintaining social cohesion is an important strategy during times of isolation or social distancing (as with the pandemic) and more so with family or friends who you suspect may be at risk of domestic violence.
Dr Yousuf Ali al Mulla, MD, Ministry of Health, is a medical innovator and educator. For any queries regarding the content of the column he can be contacted at: dryusufalmulla@gmail.com
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