Pain, anger and frustrations
What the tweets say about domestic violence during COVID-19 outbreak
Keywords:
Domestic violence, COVID-19, family violence, DV impacts, DV services, Twitter paperAbstract
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there have been increasing trends of domestic violence incidents reported globally. Rapid changes in the lifestyle with constant lockdowns and stay home orders have escalated the rise in the prevalence of domestic violence. This study explored the nature of conversations on Twitter using #domesticviolence or #DV for two months from April 2021 to May 2021. The dataset was analysed using the content analysis approach. Key findings of this study includes: an increasing trend of domestic violence resulting pain, anger and frustration among victims, a close link between domestic violence, access to guns and men with drinking habits, broader consequences of domestic violence to individuals and families, limited supports and access to services available to the DV victims, a direct association between the global outbreak of COVID-19 and the escalation of domestic violence, and a greater need for appropriate response strategies to end domestic violence in the society. The government needs to pay attention to address the increasing prevalence of domestic violence, so the women, men and families are protected and supported. An integrated service response system bringing public, private and community sectors together could be effective to address the issue of gender-based violence.
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