Domestic violence against women during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Kerala

Abstract

Background: As Covid-19 and subsequent lockdown confined people to their homes, complaints of domestic violence and cybercrime against women went up while those of harassment, sexual assault, and rape dipped, with the effect more pronounced in the country’s red zones, districts with the strictest lockdown measures. The aim of this study was to find out and help the women who suffer with domestic violence by the partner. Methods: A descriptive survey approach was used for the present study. The sample consisted of 121 women between the age group of 25 – 55 years selected by convenient sampling techniques, who were not tested COVID positive and not in quarantine. Data were collected by using a modified domestic violence scale through direct and indirect interview technique and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square test). Results: In order to facilitate the analysis and interpretation of the scope of the domestic violence was arbitrarily graded into extremely severe (4%), severe (96%), moderate, mild and no domestic violence were (0%) zero percent. the mean, median and standard deviation of domestic violence scores, which is 21.66, 22 and 1.475 respectively. All most all women were not interested to get a helpline support with various reasons. There was an association between mean scores of domestic violence and the selected demographic variables. At 10% confidence level the test is statistically significant as p<0.10. Discussion: Severe domestic violence during lockdown is very high and this pandemic has triggered the domestic violence more. Adequate strategies to be taken to help the women is the at most priority but the victims should come forward for the remedies.