The Impact Of Covid-19 Residential Quarantines On Patterns Of Violence Against Women In Colombia
Description
This study examines aggregate crime rates and the spatial distribution of violence against women (VAW) both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It also explores the influence of socioeconomic and situational factors on these trends. The analysis assesses potential variations across different pandemic phases by addressing the following research questions: (1) Did VAW incident rates change during the different pandemic phases? (2) Did the spatial distribution of VAW incidents per municipality in Colombia change before, during, and after the pandemic? and (3) What key determinants significantly impacted VAW rates during the study period? Given the documented global rise in domestic and intimate partner violence against women during the pandemic, we hypothesized an increase in VAW incidents in Colombia from 2020 to 2022. Furthermore, based on existing literature, we predicted that urban municipalities, poverty, lack of education, coca cultivation, and the presence of non-state armed actors would predict higher VAW at the municipality level. Finally, we expected statistically significant VAW hot spots to remain consistent at the municipality level throughout the pandemic stages, due to persistent underlying risk factors in these areas. The findings revealed a significant post-quarantine decrease in VAW incidents, followed by a significant increase after the economy's gradual reopening in September 2020. Notably, the geographical distribution of VAW remained consistent, with persistent 'hot spot' concentrations in the same areas across all study periods. Furthermore, urbanization and higher general violent crime rates consistently predicted higher VAW rates. Conversely, the presence of armed groups and coca production were significant negative predictors, while education's impact on VAW rates was mixed.
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This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 quarantine and social isolation measures on violence against women (VAW) patterns in Colombia between 2018 and 2023. To achieve this, official municipal-level data from the Colombian government (2018-2023) was utilized, along with several independent variables related to socioeconomic conditions and crime-specific dynamics in Colombia, collected from official public records, to assess their impact on VAW. The geographic dispersion and frequency of sexual violence, domestic violence, and femicides were analyzed across all municipalities in Colombia, South America, during four pandemic-related phases to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of quarantine and social isolation measures. Employing a mixed-methods approach involving quantitative and Geographical Information System (GIS) analyses, this study drew upon official crime records and socioeconomic data to examine the impact of COVID-19 quarantine policies on VAW trends. Utilizing SPSS (version 29.0.1.1), descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to compare overall trends and variations in the number of VAW incidents across the four study periods. Subsequently, a Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (RM ANOVA) was performed to determine if group means of VAW per day differed significantly across these phases. In addition, an independent-samples t-test was utilized to identify any significant differences between the mean VAW rates in the pre-COVID and post-COVID periods. To effectively assess the impact of COVID-19, the analysis was divided into four distinct phases based on key government policy responses: the pre-COVID period (January 2018 – February 2020) as a baseline, the quarantine and lockdown phase (March – August 2020), the selective isolation phase (September 2020 – May 2021), and the post-COVID recovery phase (June 2021 – December 2023). Utilizing this temporal framework, the total number of VAW cases per municipality in Colombia between January 2018 and December 2023 was compiled. To account for variations in municipal population sizes and enable comparable rates across municipalities, the data was adjusted by population. Lastly, ArcGIS Pro 3.3 was employed to conduct Optimized Hot Spot Analysis to create maps of VAW rates at the municipality level for each of the four distinct pandemic phases to examine whether hot spots of VAW varied over time.