Home Is Not Always a Haven: The Domestic Violence Crisis Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the associated disease it causes, COVID-19, have caused unprecedented social disruption. Due to sweeping stay-at-home orders across the United States and internationally, many victims and survivors of domestic violence (DV), now forced to be isolated with their abusers, run the risk of new or escalating violence. Numerous advocates, organizations, and service centers anticipated this: Upticks in domestic violence were reported in many regions soon after stay-at-home directives were announced. In this commentary, we delineate some of the recent events leading up to the reported spike in DV; review literature on previously documented disaster-related DV surges; and discuss some of the unique challenges, dilemmas, and risks victims and survivors face during this pandemic. We conclude with recommendations to allocate resources to DV front-liners and utilize existing DV guidelines for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.