This brief report highlights the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on the utilization of Victim Advocacy Agencies’ (VAAs’) services across Pennsylvania, using VAA utilization data from 2019–2020. VAA utilization data in this report were collected from 2019–2020 by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR). VAA utilization data were anchored to COVID-19 restriction timelines, defined by the Pennsylvania Office of the Governor. For each month, a percent change in VAA utilization (e.g., Jan 2020 utilization compared to Jan 2019 utilization) was calculated. A one-way ANOVA was run to assess whether the association between restriction phase and percent change in overall VAA utilization from 2019 to 2020 was statistically significant. A substantial decrease in VAA utilization was observed once lockdown restrictions were enacted, as well as a sustained decrease in utilization between 2019 and 2020. When restrictions were eased, an increase in service utilization was noted. This pattern of findings held for the three variables assessed: hotline utilization, new client, and medical accompaniments for FREs per month. The one-way ANOVA confirmed a statistically significant decrease in overall VAA utilization when comparing the most severe COVID-19 related restrictions to both pre-COVID and less severe restrictions. A variety of barriers (e.g., financial instability, loss of childcare, technology access, chronic physical proximity to abuser, hospital visitation restrictions, fears of contracting the virus) may result in decreased utilization of VAA services. Future research should investigate the relevance of potential causal mechanisms behind VAA utilization to help inform intervention approaches.

这份简短的报告使用 2019 年至 2020 年的 VAA 使用数据，重点介绍了 COVID-19 限制对宾夕法尼亚州受害者权益倡导机构 (VAA) 服务使用的影响。本报告中的 VAA 使用数据由宾夕法尼亚反强奸联盟 (PCAR) 从 2019 年至 2020 年收集。VAA 使用数据以宾夕法尼亚州州长办公室定义的 COVID-19 限制时间表为基础。对于每个月，都会计算 VAA 利用率的百分比变化（例如，2020 年 1 月的利用率与 2019 年 1 月的利用率相比）。运行单向方差分析来评估限制阶段与 2019 年至 2020 年总体 VAA 利用率百分比变化之间的关联是否具有统计学意义。实施锁定限制后，观察到 VAA 利用率大幅下降，以及 2019 年至 2020 年期间利用率持续下降。当放宽限制时，注意到服务利用率有所增加。这种发现模式适用于评估的三个变量：热线利用率、新客户和每月 FRE 的医疗陪伴。在将最严重的 COVID-19 相关限制与 COVID-19 之前的限制和不太严格的限制进行比较时，单向 ANOVA 证实了总体 VAA 利用率在统计上显着下降。各种障碍（例如，财务不稳定、失去托儿服务、技术访问、与施虐者的长期身体接触、医院探视限制、对感染病毒的恐惧）可能导致 VAA 服务的利用率降低。