Pandemic Perils: Intimate Partner Violence in the Wake of Global Uncertainty

Abstract

Pandemic-induced uncertainty exacerbates intimate partner violence (IPV), as the stress from health and economic crises amplifies tensions within households. The heightened violence calls attention to the immediate requirement for extensive support systems and policies to protect those who are susceptible during such unprecedented periods. This research aims to investigate how uncertainty stemming from the pandemic affects IPV in 10 selected economies from diverse regions (USA, South Africa, Brazil, India, Germany, Australia, Mexico, Nigeria, Japan, and the Philippines). While prior studies relied on panel data approaches, they repeatedly neglected the diverse economic landscapes across the economies. Alternatively, this investigation employs the Quantile-on-Quantile tool, which enables a detailed analysis of the interplay between variables tailored to specific country contexts. This approach enhances the accuracy of the results and provides a comprehensive global view, revealing insights specific to the distinct characteristics of various nations. The results submit that pandemic uncertainty (PUN) upraises IPV in most of the selected nations. Additionally, we observe varying trends in these relationships across different quantiles of variables. These results accentuate the significance for policymakers to execute exhaustive estimations and devise resilient methods for supervising fluctuations in PUN and the incidence of IPV.