ArticleBMC public health2025
Locked down, locked out: a cross-sectional study on experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and barriers to formal and informal support during COVID-19 lockdowns in Ontario.
Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- "We were locked in with our trauma" - a mixed-methods study of health pathways among intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors during COVID-19 lockdowns in Ontario.BMC public health · 2026Article
- What Matters in Help-Seeking and Disclosure Intent of Intimate Partner Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Similarities and Differences Across Demographic Groups.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Exploring how mothers with a history of intimate partner violence experienced the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic intensified pre-existing social and health inequities, with individuals actively experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) facing heightened risks and barriers to support. While lockdowns were necessary for public health, they also increased isolation and limited access to essential formal and informal supports. This study explores the association between IPV experienced during Ontario’s COVID-19 lockdowns (March 2020–June 2021) and barriers to both formal (e.g., health, legal, housing) and informal (e.g., friends, family) support systems.
methodsA cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 1,344 participants, 18 years or older, who were in an adult relationship and residing in Ontario, Canada during the lockdowns. Participants were recruited through non-probability convenience, quota-based sampling from a pre-existing online panel (Leger Opinion, LEO). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multivariable logistic regression to examine associations between IPV and support barriers, controlling for demographic, relational, and health-related factors.
resultsNearly one in four participants (23.4%) self-identified as experiencing IPV (i.e., emotional, sexual, physical, mental, financial, coercive, spiritual and/or technology-based abuse) during the lockdowns. IPV survivors had over three times greater odds of facing multiple barriers to formal supports (aOR = 3.4; 95% CI: 2.16–5.38) and 1.6 times higher odds of decreased communication with friends or family (aOR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.06–2.31). Risk factors for reduced access included low household income, informal caregiving responsibilities, and perceived community violence. Poor physical and mental health were also significant predictors of reduced access to formal and informal supports.
conclusionsThis study highlights how COVID-19 lockdowns compounded access barriers for participants who self-identified as IPV survivors, limiting both formal services and informal networks. Emergency preparedness plans should maintain IPV service capacity during lockdowns through essential service designations, implement technology-based interventions such as discreet online platforms and text-based safety planning, and create targeted outreach for high-risk groups including low-income households and caregivers. More inclusive frameworks are also needed to ensure that supports are responsive to all survivors—particularly as men and women in this study reported similar IPV experiences and outcomes during lockdowns. Future pandemic responses must proactively fund IPV services rather than rely on reactive, underfunded crisis interventions.
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