"Nowhere to go" qualitative exploration of social workers' perspectives on violence against women in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed global socio-economic aspects of many humans' lives, leading to an increased risk of domestic violence (DV). This study aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dynamics of DV in Jordan by exploring the social workers' perceptions of its underlying causes and how the unique socio-economic and psychological strains of the pandemic affected DV within the Jordanian context. Methods: Qualitative study conducted from February to July 2022 in Amman, Jordan. The data were collected through individual in-depth interviews with 20 social workers who work in different Family and Juvenile Protection centers throughout Amman city, to explore their perceptions about the status of violence against women during the coronavirus pandemic. The data was analyzed using latent content analysis. Findings: The researchers were able to recognize two themes from the narratives; The first theme was: COVID-19 fear and restrictions, aggravated the barriers and impacted reaching out and access to social services. This theme was built on two categories: Prevailing socio-cultural hushing especially among less privileged women; the victim's ambivalence between the risk of exposure to the virus versus her fear from the perpetrator. The second theme was: COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions generated tremendous stress for victims, perpetrators, and social workers. This theme was constructed on four categories: the increase in the incidence of domestic abuse during the pandemic; the increase of socio-economic hardships; the increase in alcohol and drug abuse by victims and their abusers; and the social workers' concern about the accessibility to ask for help during the quarantine. Conclusion: There has been a noticeable increase in DV in Jordan during COVID-19 crisis attributed to many factors such as spending a lot of time with the abusers and physical barriers for accessing family protection departments. Empowering women and providing psychosocial support to both victims and perpetrators can prevent and decrease the hazardous impact of DV. Digital reporting tools and standardized tele-counseling protocols for social workers should be implemented to overcome the possible physical and socio-economic barriers of reporting.