Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41545629›Full record

SynthesisArchives of women's mental health2026

Is anybody out there? Tackling intimate partner violence as a hidden pandemic during COVID times and beyond: factors, impact, and recommendations, a systematic review and meta-analyses.

Petra Heidler, Lisa Dam, Isabel King, Nouran Hamza, Marwa Muhammed Abdeljawad, Dina Alaraby, Mochammad Fahlevi, Temoor Anjum, Roy Rillera Marzo, Michael Wagner and 2 more

Erratum issuedAbstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Archives of women's mental health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Petra HeidlerInstitute International Trade and Sustainable Economy, IMC University of Applied Sciences, Krems, Austria.ORCID 0000-0003-4979-1838
Lisa DamIT-Services der Sozialversicherung GmbH, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0001-8080-628X
Isabel KingSchool of Health, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, QL, 4558, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-2227-8903
Nouran HamzaClinical Research Key, Nairobi, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0001-8008-4598
Marwa Muhammed AbdeljawadMedical Agency for Research and Statistics, London, UK. marwa.moh@mars-global.co.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-6276-4992
Dina AlarabyMedical Agency for Research and Statistics, London, UK.
Mochammad FahleviManagement Department, BINUS Online, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia.ORCID 0000-0002-1419-8308
Temoor AnjumUniversity Institute of Management Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0002-9534-322X
Roy Rillera MarzoFaculty of Humanities and Health Sciences, Curtin University, Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia.ORCID 0000-0001-9414-4010
Michael WagnerMedical Agency for Research and Statistics, London, UK.
Sudip BhattacharyaAll India Institutes of Medical Sciences, Deoghar, Jharkhand, India.ORCID 0000-0001-7935-9013
Priyanka ChahalDepartment of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-2666-0384

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeIntimate partner violence is a pervasive issue deeply affecting public health, and its escalation during the COVID-19 pandemic has raised serious concerns. While the escalating impact of intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely acknowledged, there remains a need for a comprehensive systematic review that synthesizes existing literature. This review seeks to address this gap by providing an inclusive assessment of the global landscape of intimate partner violence during and after the pandemic, thereby informing more effective prevention and intervention strategies.

methodsA systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases using different MeSH terms. A total of 445 relevant articles were identified initially, and after thorough screening, 54 articles were included in the review.

resultsThe lockdown had several negative consequences, including job losses, economic vulnerability, and health issues due to prolonged loneliness and uncertainty. An increase in emergency hotline or Women's Helpline calls was observed. Globally, intimate partner violence surged during the lockdown and persisted into 2023, causing severe and lasting health, psychological, and reproductive consequences for victims. Our results showed that COVID-19 increased the risk of partner violence: post-COVID intimate partner violence risk greater than pre-COVID risk (0.33 vs. 0.28, respectively).

conclusionAlthough COVID-19 increased the risk of intimate partner violence, this review also stresses a high global prevalence of intimate partner violence, not restricted to the pandemic and lockdowns. To prevent partner violence and reduce long-lasting severe health, psychological, and reproductive consequences of partner violence, broad cooperation between governments, communities, health professionals, and the media is necessary.

Indexed as

COVID-19Intimate Partner ViolenceFemaleHumansMalePandemicsSARS-CoV-2COVID-19Gender inequalityIntimate partner violenceIPVWomen

Identifiers

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.