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International Journal of
Population Studies IPV during COVID-19 in Africa

Studies from databases/registers
(n = 127) References from other sources (n = 9)
Google Scholar (n = 82) Citation searching (n = 6)
Citation searching (n = 32) Grey literature (n = 3)
CENTRAL (n = 13)
Identification

References removed (n = 11)
Duplicates identified manually (n = 1)
Duplicates identified by Covidence (n = 8)
Marked as ineligible by automation tools
(n =1)
Other reasons (n = 1)

Studies screened (n = 125) Studies excluded (n = 54)

Studies sought for retrieval (n = 71) Studies not retrieved (n = 18)
Screening Studies assessed for eligibility (n = 53) Studies excluded (n = 39)

duplicate (n = 9)
Commentary (n = 1)
Irrelevant study (n = 9)
Newspaper article (n = 1)
Paper is outside Africa (n = 1)
Topic out of scope of study (n = 18)

Included Studies included in review (n = 14) Included studies ongoing (n = 0)
Studies awaiting classification (n = 0)

Figure 1. PRISMA table for this review.

situation. In addition, instances of IPV were observed in and documents. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted all
relation to threats of evicting women from their homes, spheres of interaction as the world system grappled with
couples’ separation, and fights over custody of children – the need for a new normal to cope with the challenges.
all associated with the challenges posed by the lockdown Partners and spouses engaged in intimate relationships
(Fawole et al., 2021). were further predicted to likely experience violence in
various forms due to factors such as patriarchy, inadequate
3.6. Sense of precariousness in responses of state policies, and shortcomings in existing response systems.
and non-state actors to IPV Proposing such a prediction in South Africa, Parry &
The conclusions tend toward a consensus that IPV persists Gordon (2021) reflected on the existing fragile situation
in most communities and countries covered in this of black women and postulated a potential increase in
review. A significant rationale for anticipating challenging IPV among black working women in the Western Cape.
circumstances for those involved in intimate relationships They argued that black working women were particularly
lies in the pre-existing fragility of social structures and at risk due to their challenging living conditions and
the response framework. These traits are evident across already constrained access to health, safety, policing, and
the 10 African countries featured in the selected articles socioeconomic needs. Extracts from the policy review

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 50 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.367