The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on violence against women (VAW), including increased prevalence and severity, and on VAW service delivery. The purpose of this research was to study women’s experiences with VAW services in the first stages of the pandemic and describe their fears and concerns. This cross-sectional study was conducted from May through October 2020. Our VAW agency partners across Ontario, Canada invited women using outreach services to participate in a study about their experiences during the pandemic. In total, 49 women from 9 agencies completed an online survey. Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and open-ended responses are presented to supplement findings. Women’s experiences with VAW services during the pandemic varied greatly; some found technology-facilitated services (phone, video, text) more accessible, while others hoped to return to in-person care. Over half of women reported poorer wellbeing, access to health care, and access to informal supports. Many women reported increased relationship-related fears, some due specifically to COVID-19 factors. Our results support providing a variety of technology-based options for women accessing VAW services when in-person care options are reduced. This research also adds to the scant literature examining how some perpetrators capitalized on the pandemic by using new COVID-19-specific forms of coercive control. Although the impacts of the pandemic on women varied, our findings highlight how layers of difficulty, such as less accessible formal and informal support, as well as increased fear – can compound to make life for women experiencing abuse exceptionally difficult.

COVID-19 大流行对暴力侵害妇女行为 (VAW) 产生了重大影响，包括增加流行率和严重程度，以及对 VAW 服务的提供。这项研究的目的是研究女性在大流行的第一阶段接受 VAW 服务的经历，并描述她们的恐惧和担忧。这项横断面研究于 2020 年 5 月至 2020 年 10 月进行。我们在加拿大安大略省的 VAW 机构合作伙伴邀请使用外展服务的女性参与一项关于她们在大流行期间的经历的研究。共有来自 9 个机构的 49 名女性完成了在线调查。使用描述性统计分析定量数据，并提出开放式响应以补充调查结果。妇女在大流行期间接受 VAW 服务的经历差异很大；一些人发现了技术促进服务（电话、视频、text) 更容易获得，而其他人则希望回到面对面的护理中。超过一半的女性报告说，他们的幸福感、获得医疗保健的机会和获得非正式支持的机会更差。许多女性报告说，与关系相关的恐惧增加了，其中一些是由于 COVID-19 因素造成的。我们的结果支持在减少面对面护理选择时为获得 VAW 服务的女性提供各种基于技术的选择。这项研究还增加了研究一些肇事者如何利用新冠病毒大流行的稀缺文献 我们的结果支持在减少面对面护理选择时为获得 VAW 服务的女性提供各种基于技术的选择。这项研究还增加了研究一些肇事者如何利用新冠病毒大流行的稀缺文献 我们的结果支持在减少面对面护理选择时为获得 VAW 服务的女性提供各种基于技术的选择。这项研究还增加了研究一些肇事者如何利用新冠病毒大流行的稀缺文献COVID-19 特定形式的强制控制。尽管大流行对女性的影响各不相同，但我们的研究结果强调了层层困难，例如较难获得的正式和非正式支持，以及增加的恐惧——可能会使遭受虐待的女性的生活变得异常困难。