Intimate partner violence and its correlates in middle-aged and older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-country secondary analysis

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) may have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Middle-aged and older adults, ages 45 years or older, are at higher risk of COVID-19 mortality and social isolation. However, most studies on IPV during the pandemic do not focus on this important subpopulation. Informed by the social-ecological theory, this study examines individual, household, community, and country-level correlates of IPV among middle-aged and older adults in multiple countries using a cross-sectional online survey. Methods Data from 2867 participants aged over 45 in the International Sexual Health and Reproductive Health (I-SHARE) survey from July 2020 to February 2021 were described using univariate analysis. IPV was defined using four validated WHO measures. Individual characteristics included self-isolation and food security. At the country-level, we examined social distancing stringency. Logistic regression models with a random intercept for country were conducted to explore IPV correlates among 1730 eligible individuals from 20 countries with complete data. Results Most participants were heterosexual (2469/2867), cisgender (2531/2867) females (1589/2867) between the ages of 45-54 (1539/2867). 12.1% (346/2867) of participants experienced IPV during social distancing measures. After adjustment, participants who self-isolated experienced 1.4 (95% CI 1.0, 2.0, p=0.04) times the odds of IPV compared to those who had not isolated. Those who reported an increase in food insecurity compared to pre-pandemic experienced 2.2 times the odds (95% CI 1.6, 3.0, p<0.0001) of IPV compared to those who did not report increased food insecurity. People in countries with more stringent social distancing policies were less likely to experience IPV compared to people in countries with lower levels of stringency (aOR=0.6, 95% CI 0.4, 0.9, p=0.04). Conclusions IPV was common among middle-aged and older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our data suggest the need for further crisis management and social protection measures for middle-aged and older adults who have intersecting vulnerabilities to IPV to mitigate COVID-19 impact.