Domestic violence suffered by men who have sex with men during the first lockdown related to COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Introduction - The containment measures taken in March 2020 to stop the spread of the Coronavirus strengthened social disparities in populations already vulnerable in terms of physical and mental health and living conditions. Thus, an increase in domestic violence has been observed affecting women and children but also lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) people. The objective of this article is to estimate the levels of domestic violence suffered by men who have sex with men (MSM) residing during the eight weeks of the first lockdown of 2020 in a housing with one of their family members, to describe their characteristics and the impacts on health. Methods - ERAS is an anonymous, self-administered online cross-sectional survey based on voluntary. The COVID-19 special edition was conducted from 30 June to 15 July 2020 from Sante publique France. A total of 8,345 MSM residing in France responded to the survey. Results - Among the 8,345 MSM respondents, 2,467 reported living in the same housing as a family member during the eight weeks of the first lockdown. Among the latter, 35.2% (868) reported experiencing domestic violence during this period, mostly psychological verbal violence. The victims of domestic violence were young and in a precarious socio-economic situation. In this context of lockdown, this unfavorable family environment had negative impacts on the mental health of the victims. Conclusion - An action plan was launched by the government to combat anti-LGBT violence, but in light of the successive measures taken to contain the epidemic, innovative initiatives must be implemented to give them all the support they need.