Page 40 - IJPS-10-1

International Journal of

Population Studies

REVIEW ARTICLE
Gender symmetry: A systematic review of men’s

experiences of intimate partner violence during
COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

1
Dorothy N. Ononokpono and Endurance Uzobo *
2
1 Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
2 Department of Sociology, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria
(This article belongs to Special Issue: Population and Reproductive Health Dynamics under Covid-
19 in Sub-Saharan Africa)

Abstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health concern. However, men’s experiences
of IPV have been largely neglected in previous studies. This systematic review aimed
to examine men’s experiences of IPV during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Six
online bibliographic databases were used to identify relevant published peer-reviewed
journal articles and gray literature. A total of 19 journal articles and gray literature that
examined the prevalence, types, and consequences of violence experienced by men
during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown were extracted for review. This systematic
review is anchored on the gender symmetry theory developed by Straus and Gelles.
Expectedly, females were the major victims of IPV cases, but a significant number of
*Corresponding author: men around the world also experienced IPV during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Endurance Uzobo This finding suggests that evidence-based approaches that also recognize men as
(enduzobo@gmail.com) victims of IPV should be taken into account for minimizing such cases.
Citation: Ononokpono, D.N. &
Uzobo, E. (2024). Gender symmetry:
A systematic review of men’s Keywords: Gender symmetry; Intimate partner violence; COVID-19; Pandemic; Lockdown
experiences of intimate partner
violence during COVID-19 pandemic
lockdown. International Journal of
Population Studies, 10(1):34-44.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.376 1. Introduction
Received: September 30, 2022 The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has no doubt altered the
Accepted: December 1, 2023 sociodemographic landscape across the globe. To contain the spread and manage the
virus, stringent measures were put in place by various authorities in different countries.
Published Online: December 28, 2023
One of these measures was national and international lockdown to confine families in
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). their respective residences. Such measure, however, led to escalating tensions among
This is an Open-Access article spouses, thereby pushing intimate partner violence (IPV) cases to a higher level.
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Compared to other forms of violence, IPV places its victims much greater danger as they
License, permitting distribution, have relatively fewer routes of escape from their abusers.
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is IPV can be defined as a form of domestic violence perpetrated against a spouse or
properly cited. partner who is or was in an intimate relationship (Larsen, 2016). A widely cited definition
Publisher’s Note: AccScience of IPV by the World Health Organization is “any behavior within an intimate relationship
Publishing remains neutral with that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship, including
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviors”
affiliations. (Krug et al., 2002). While this definition highlights various aspects of IPV, it should be

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 34 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.376