workers, educators, police, and global humanitarians have been warning for months: that the pandemic’s isolation policies are exacerbating domestic violence. The researchers specifically found an average 7.9 percent increase in international domestic violence incidents and an average 8.1 percent spike in the U.S. But given that the researchers narrowed their analysis to academic studies that met specific criteria and were published in English, Piquero is certain that the increases are even far bigger than their report reflects. “There’s no doubt it is a lot worse than 8 percent. Just imagine all the stuff that we have no data on—the places where the machismo is so strong or where gender norms are so different,” he said. “And all we looked at is physical abuse. Imagine the emotional abuse that doesn’t get reported. Imagine the kids in those homes who witnessed the violence. There is a whole toll there that people haven’t talked about or studied.” Added Knaul, who co-chairs the Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People, “Violence against women and children was a pandemic before COVID and will continue to be one after, unless we meet this public health crisis head on with policies, resources, and changes in attitudes and norms.” While the researchers found strong evidence of a spike, they said the dynamics driving the trend aren’t as clear. But they believe that lockdowns exacerbated the factors, including job loss, childcare stresses, and financial insecurity, typically associated with domestic violence. They also suggested that the use of alcohol and other substances as a coping strategy elevated the threat, as did isolation from friends, neighbors, teachers, and other people who ordinarily would report signs of abuse or intervene. Citing the report, Thomas Abt, director of the commission led by former Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales and Loretta Lynch, called on policymakers to provide additional resourc-
es for domestic abuse prevention and victim services—something Piquero said must happen before the next pandemic. “We need to make sure that the domestic violence shelters are ready for this. We need to make sure that police departments do welfare checks on prior victims, and we need to ensure people who need help can reach out—with apps that enable them to do so confidentially,” he said. “We also have to study what goes wrong during a lockdown, so we can prevent it the next time. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on so many people’s lives that we can see—with last week marking 500,000 deaths—but in so many other ways, we have just begun to scratch the surface.” In addition to Piquero and Knaul, the co-authors of the report included Wesley G. Jennings, chair and professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies at the University of Mississippi; Erin Jemison, manager at the Crime and Justice Institute; and Catherine (Katie) Kaukinen, chair and professor of the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida.
Felicia Knaul, Ph.D.
CANCER PATIENTS IN MEXICO FACE DIRE SCENARIO IN WAKE OF COVID-19 Written by Michael R. Malone Published on February 5, 2021 Category: University of Miami President, Faculty, Event In a recent webinar, public health experts explored what should be happening in the Latin American country to assist those facing the deadly disease during the pandemic. University of Miami President Julio Frenk joined a panel of other public health experts on World Cancer Day last week to explore how the battle against the COVID-19 virus in Mexico and fledgling health care reforms have exacerbated an already critical situation for cancer patients. The event, “Attention for Cancer Patients in Mexico during COVID-19,” hosted in part by the University’s Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, was moderated by Felicia Knaul, institute director, public health expert, and a cancer survivor. The session aimed to inspire action and to raise awareness for the plight of patients in Mexico suffering from cancer. Knaul launched the session by sharing data from a newly released article in the The Lancet Oncologymedical journal that detailed the shortages of oncological medicines and documented how treatments for cancer patients in Mexico, especially those with breast cancer, have been delayed, eliminated, or modified in the wake of health care reforms and the government’s attempt to contain the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s likely that we will see a tsunami of deaths in the coming years if things don’t change,” she said, highlighting
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