The COVID-19 pandemic has increased and intensified the number of stressors that people experience which increases the instances of conflict and violence within the home.

People have been furloughed and may have even lost their jobs due to the pandemic. The uncertainty of not being able to make ends meet and provide for the family can cause a strain even in the most well-adjusted and peace-loving families. 

In addition, the increase in the hours of people staying at home due to social distancing, as people have been adjusting to working and studying from home, may increase the chances of perpetrating and experiencing domestic violence.

The prolonged isolation from friends and loved ones outside of one’s family, as well as the effects of staying indoors for long periods of time, can make people feel cramped at home and exacerbate family conflicts resulting to physical violence. 

If you have experienced or are experiencing violence in your own home, it is important for you to know that there are healthy ways of dealing with family conflict. No one should ever have to resort to physical violence in order to settle issues with loved ones. 

It is important for you to know that if this pattern of behavior of a person perpetrating violence to use physical harm to get their way has been going on even before COVID-19, it is definitely not okay and you do not deserve to be treated in this way by anyone in any situation. 

You have it within you to seek help through reaching out to people you trust and organizations committed to getting people experiencing physical harm in domestic situations to safety. Please refer to "What resources exist for domestic violence victims?"

For more information, go to: Johns Hopkins Medicine, UN Women