Safety Planning with Survivors of Domestic Violence: How COVID-19 Shifts the Focus

Abstract

Safety from an abusive partner is often defined by the act of leaving the relationship. Challenges to this paradigm include evidence that leaving can increase danger, at least in the short term, and the fact that mainstream solutions associated with leaving have historically ill-served victims marginalized by race, gender identity, disability, language, or immigration status. Nonetheless, leaving remains a primary focus of planning for safety from an abusive partner. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in home quarantine, the shutdown of courts that most often hear abuse cases, slowdowns in obtaining orders of protection due to remote access being inconsistent, and domestic violence shelters that cannot accept new residents, while practicing adequate social distancing and protective health measures. COVID-19 has forced domestic violence advocates to grapple with safety options other than leaving. What follows is some of what we are learning under COVID-19 about the daily lives and options for survivors of intimate partner abuse and their families, especially those living with, or in close contact with, an abuser.