Locked out or let in? Learning from victim-survivors’ remote help-seeking experiences during COVID-19

Abstract

As COVID-19 traversed the world, public health control measures introduced to reduce the spread of the virus restricted people’s movements and confined many victim-survivors to homes with their abusers. These restrictions raised challenges for services providing support to victims of domestic and family violence (DFV) leading many to rapidly pivot to remote service delivery models. Much of the existing knowledge about victim-survivor service use during COVID-19 is based on the reflections and observations of practitioners and service providers. This article centres on the experiences and expertise of victim-survivors, using findings from an Australian study that investigated victim-survivors’ use of DFV services during lockdowns. Our exploratory survey data revealed that lockdowns created conditions in homes that made it challenging to receive support remotely with concerns about privacy looming large. At the same time, several victim-survivors reported that the widescale shift to remote service provision during lockdowns improved the accessibility of support services. Positive experiences of remote service provision during COVID-19 provide support for the retention of hybrid service models in the future to cater for diverse victim-survivor needs and communities.