The Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on domestic abuse and child abuse & neglect in Bridgend

Background: Financial stress, social stress and lack of support at home can precipitate domestic and child abuse. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these factors. We hypothesise an increase in domestic and child abuse during lockdown.

Objective: This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence of domestic abuse and safeguarding of children in Bridgend by comparing data from 2019 and 2020.

Methods: Data was collected retrospectively from 23rd March to 30th September 2020 and compared to the same time period in 2019. Welsh data on domestic abuse was shared by the Welsh Government’s Live Fear free helpline. Local data was shared by domestic abuse charity CALAN, the Emergency Department (ED) and Paediatric Department of Princess of Wales Hospital (POWH).

Results: During lockdown, Live Fear Free reported increased contact across Wales in 2020 (511 April; 631 December). Locally, CALAN reported a 190% increase in self-referrals (157 vs. 54), a 198% increase in third party referrals (131 vs. 44), but a 36% decrease in Police referrals (675 vs. 1061) for domestic abuse. The number of referrals to domestic abuse support services from POWH ED remained the same (26 vs. 26).

ED child protection referrals increased from 189 (2019) to 204 (2020). In 2020, an increased proportion of these were due to neglect/physical abuse (20.1% vs. 18.5%) and domestic abuse (6.4% vs. 4.8%). The Paediatric Department observed a 67% decrease in child protection medical examinations undertaken (17 vs. 52). 23 examinations in 2019 were referred from schools compared to 1 in 2020.

Conclusion: No strong conclusions can be drawn regarding Bridgend’s incidence of domestic and child abuse during lockdown. However, there was an observed increase in self-referrals to local support services for domestic and child abuse concerns. This could reflect reduced accessibility or engagement with public sector organisations during lockdown.