Ethiopia has taken unprecedented preventive measures, such as confinement to home and closure of schools and offices to halt the spread of Corona virus pandemic in the country. Unfortunately, such orders may have been associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) against women but there is no study conducted to assess the magnitude of IPV during the lock-downs in the country. Thus, this study intended to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of IPV against women during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on sample of 617 married or cohabited women. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to identify and enroll women who are married. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of IPV among women and all statistical analyses were carried out using STATA 14.2. In this study, amongst the 589 married women who were included in the analysis, 22.4% [95% CI: 19.1%, 25.9%] were experienced at least one form of IPV. Additionally, 11.0%, 20.0%, and 13.8% of women also experienced physical, psychological, and sexual IPVs respectively. After adjusting for covariate; being illiterate [AOR=2.37: 95% CI 1.29, 4.35], having illiterate husband [AOR=2.67: 95% CI 1.36, 5.21], having substance user husband (alcohol, chat or cigarettes) [AOR=2.75: 95% CI 1.42, 5.34], and community tolerant attitude to violence [AOR=2.97: 95% CI 1.17, 7.61] were the independent predictors of IPV amongst married women. In conclusion, the prevalence of IPV among married women was comparable to the national pre-COVID figure of IPV. Therefore, national and regional governments should work toward enhancing gender equality, coupled with addressing risk factors at multiple levels, using community- and institution-based approaches to prevent IPV and to specifically achieve SDG5 of eliminating violence against women by 2030.
AbeyaS. G., AfeworkM. F., & YalewA. W. (2011). Intimate partner violence against women in western Ethiopia: Prevalence, patterns, and associated factors. BMC Public Health, 11, 913. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-913
AjalaA. O. (2017b). Sexual violence against women in marital dyads, prevalence, correlates, and consequences: Among the Ijesa of SouthWestern Nigeria. Archives of Business Research, 5(12), 63–77. https://doi.org/10.14738/abr.512.3902
5.
AlebelA., KibretG. D., WagnewF., TesemaC., FeredeA., PetruckaP., BoboF. T., BirhanuM. Y., TadesseA. A., & EshetieS. (2018). Intimate partner violence and associated factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Reproductive Health, 15(1), 196. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-018-0637-x
BlackE., WorthH., ClarkeS., ObolJ. H., AkeraP., AworA., ShabitiM. S., FryH., & RichmondR. (2019). Prevalence and correlates of intimate partner violence against women in conflict affected northern Uganda: A cross-sectional study. Conflict and Health, 13, 35. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-019-0219-8
8.
BoserupB., McKenneyM., & ElkbuliA. (2020). Alarming trends in US domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 38(12), 2753–2755. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7195322/
9.
CampbellA. M. (2020). An increasing risk of family violence during the Covid-19 pandemic: Strengthening community collaborations to save lives. Forensic Science International: Reports, 100089. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7152912/
DeribeK., BeyeneB. K., TollaA., MemiahP., BiadgilignS., & AmberbirA. (2012). Magnitude and correlates of intimate partner violence against women and its outcome in Southwest Ethiopia. PLoS ONE, 7(4), Article 36189. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036189
13.
DongY., MoX., HuY., QiX., JiangF., JiangZ., & TongS. (2020). Epidemiology of COVID-19 among children in China. Pediatrics, 145(6), Article e20200702. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-0702
14.
DuncanT. K., WeaverJ. L., ZakrisonT. L., JosephB., CampbellB. T., ChristmasA. B., StewartR. M., KuhlsD. A., & BulgerE. M. (2020). Domestic violence and safe storage of firearms in the CoVID-19 era. Annals of Surgery, 272(2), e55–e57. https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000004088
15.
Federal Minstry of Health (FMOH). (2020a). COVID-19 Handbook for health professionals Federal Ministry of Health, Ethiopia. https://www.moh.gov.et
16.
FMOH. (2020a). COVID-19 Handbook for health professionals Federal Ministry of Health, Ethiopia, Availabile:https://www.moh.gov.et
HatchimonjiJ. S., SwendimanR. A., SeamonM. J., & NanceM. L. (2020). Trauma does not quarantine: Violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Annals of Surgery, 272(2), e53–e54.
19.
JarneckeA. M., & FlanaganJ. C. (2020). Staying safe during COVID-19: How a pandemic can escalate risk for intimate partner violence and what can be done to provide individuals with resources and support. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(S1), S202.
20.
JemalB., FeredeZ. A., MolaS., HailuS., AbiyS., WoldeG. D., TilahunA., TesfayeB., LemmaD. T., AlimawA. A., NemeD., RegasaT., MulugetaH., MogesK., & BedruM. (2020). Knowledge, attitude and practice of healthcare workers towards COVID-19 and its prevention in Ethiopia: A multicenter study. https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-29437/v1/2802c94a-b237-458f-ac48-aee72c4ae793.pdf
21.
JohnN., CaseyS. E., CarinoG., & McGovernT. (2020). Lessons never learned: Crisis and gender-based violence. Developing World Bioethics, 20(2), 65–68.
22.
KassaG. M., & AbajobirA. A. (2020). Prevalence of violence against women in Ethiopia: A meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 21(3), 624–637. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018782205
MazzaM., MaranoG., LaiC., JaniriL., & SaniG. (2020). Danger in danger: Interpersonal violence during COVID-19 quarantine. Psychiatry Research, 289, 113046.
25.
MoreiraD. N., CostaDa, & M.P. (2020). The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the precipitation of intimate partner violence. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 71, 101606.
26.
Özcan*Neslihan Keser, GünaydinSevilÇitilE.T. (2016). Domestic violence against women in Turkey: A systematic review and meta analysis. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 30(5), 620–629.
27.
OyediranK. A., & FeyisetanB. (2017). Prevalence and contexual determinants of intimate partner violence in Nigeria. African Population Studies, 31(1). https://aps.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/1003
28.
PearceN., & Afifi.Z. (2011). Determinants of domestic violence against women in an Eastern Saudi Community. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 65(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech.2011.142976b.18
SaniaA., BrittainK., PhillipsT. K., ZerbeA., RonanA., MyerL., & AbramsE. J. (2017). Effect of alcohol consumption and psychosocial stressors on preterm and small-for-gestational-age births in HIV-infected women in South Africa: A cohort study. BMJ, 7(3), 8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5372146/
31.
SemahegnA., TorpeyK., ManuA., AssefaN., & AnkomahA. (2019). Adapted tool for the assessment of domestic violence against women in a low-income country setting: A reliability analysis. International Journal of Women’s Health, 11, 65–73. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S181385
SthephenL. P. (2006). Factors associated with attitudes towards intimate partner violence: A study of women in Zambia. Violence and Victims, 21(5), 645–656.
34.
TaubA. (2020). A new Covid-19 crisis: Domestic abuse rises worldwide. The New York Times, 6.
WHO. (2012). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. Author.
WuD., WuT., LiuQ., & YangZ. (2020). The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak: what we know. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 94, 44–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.03.004
