Supporting Intimate Partner Violence Survivors And Their Children During The Covid-19 Pandemic

* Abbreviations:\n COVID-19 — : coronavirus disease 2019\n CUES — : Confidentiality, Universal Education and Empowerment, and Support\n IPV — : intimate partner violence\n\nThe patient was well appearing but congested. Through gown, gloves, goggles, and a mask, I asked the mom if there was anyone at home who could help bulb suction. “He’ll never help,” she said. As tears dripped down her cheek, she described struggles with a partner who was controlling and disinterested in co-parenting, who took her money and tried to destroy her credit. She wanted him to leave, but the pandemic happened, and child care was limited. She had to keep working, and he was watching her children. She felt exhausted, saying, “Being here, in clinic, is like a break for me.” She shared that her partner has never physically abused her or injured her children. She felt safe taking resources about a local intimate partner violence (IPV) agency and was open to a follow-up visit.\n\nIPV, which includes physical, emotional, sexual, financial, or immigration-related abuse by a former or current partner, is a pervasive public health epidemic, with myriad child health impacts.1–3 During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, physical distancing, school and child care closures, and unemployment are contributing to additional stressors within households, associated with worsening IPV. Whereas empirical data on IPV and COVID-19 is nascent, emerging work, with data from Los Angeles and Indianapolis, reveals an increase in IPV reports in March to April 2020 compared with January to March 2020.4 Pediatric clinicians have a vital role in connecting adult caregivers with supports and resources to mitigate the consequences of IPV for both survivors and … \n\nAddress correspondence to Maya I. Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, 3414 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. E-mail: ragavanm{at}chp.edu