Intimate Partner Violence and the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Veterans Health Administration Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program Response

ABSTRACT

Every minute of every day, 24 Americans experience intimate partner violence (IPV). During a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, daily life may be disrupted and there can be increased risk for harm associated with IPV. The novelty of the pandemic in modern times coupled with the potential for increased risk at the intersection of the pandemic and IPV (e.g., staying home with a partner, increased stress, uncertain access to community resources) demanded rapid innovation and implementation. Recognizing that IPV is a significant health issue, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rapidly mobilized a multifaceted nationwide response to ensure that veterans, their partners, and VA staff would have resources and support available, and empower those working directly with patients to ensure safety is addressed. IPV, like national and global crises, necessitates an interprofessional and multisystemic response, and as such, this paper details an approach to de-silo institutions and purposefully initiate the necessary partnerships to respond to complex needs that arise.

KEYWORDS:

• Veteran
• intimate partner violence
• healthcare
• innovation
• pandemic
• system implementation
• COVID-19
• social determinants of health

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program Coordinators, VA program offices, and community partners that made possible the rapid response, implementation, and sustainment of the vital services described in this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical Standards and Informed Consent

This manuscript shares processes and outcomes gathered, analyzed, and initially reported for operational purposes, which was not human subjects research.