Health care practitioners’ responsibility to address intimate partner violence related to the COVID-19 pandemic

We wish to commend the authors (1) for their timely and insightful commentary on the critical issue of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and practical ways for health care providers to identify and support victims.

In this discussion of IPV, it is imperative that we also consider the impact of the pandemic on violence against children in Canada and abroad. Child maltreatment, including abuse, neglect, and exposure to family violence, affects one-third of Canadian children under age 15 and is among the leading causes of child mortality in young children (2). IPV and child maltreatment often occur together and share many risk factors (3, 4). Similar to the drivers for increased rates of IPV, there is widespread concern that as a result of intensified family stress, financial insecurity, and lack of access to supports, children are now at higher risk of violence. At the same time, physical and social distancing have restricted the interface between children and the protective adults that most commonly identify and report cases of suspected child maltreatment. Together these factors have led to a deeply troubling dichotomy – reports of child abuse are down, severity of cases is up (5).

Health care providers continue to see children and families despite the pandemic, and are uniquely situated to identify child maltreatment – in some cases, we may be the only contact a child has outside the home. We must make time to connect with and support families. Regardless of the specific area of medicine in which we practice, we must all be vigilant for the signs of abuse, and we all have a duty to report it when it is suspected. A child’s life could depend on it.