When Home Isn't Safe: How Housing Density and Room Count Shaped Intimate Partner Violence during COVID-19

1. Background and purpose: COVID-19 lockdowns have significantly disrupted daily life, increasing family stress and intensifying instances of intimate partner violence (IPV). The forced proximity due to stay-at-home orders often turned the home into a site of heightened victimization, particularly for individuals living with their abusers. While poor housing conditions are known to exacerbate stress and negatively impact mental health, limited research has explored how specific housing characteristics may relate to IPV risk, especially during pandemics. This study aims to investigate the association between housing density, number of rooms, and IPV before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Seongnam City, South Korea.
2. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 813 residents of Seongnam City, Korea. IPV experiences were measured before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, with housing density and room count as key independent variables. Covariates included gender, age, employment status, education level, and household income. Time spent with partners during the pandemic was also assessed. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted using STATA 13.0 to examine associations between housing conditions and emotional, physical, and sexual IPV, adjusting for all covariates.
3. Results: Higher housing density was significantly associated with emotional IPV victimization before the pandemic. Fewer rooms were linked to increased risk of physical and sexual IPV victimization before the pandemic. Fewer rooms were linked to increased risk of physical and sexual IPV before COVID-19, and sexual IPV during the pandemic. Time spent with partners was significantly related to emotional IPV victimization during COVID-19. The association between number of rooms and sexual IPV remained significant even after adjusting for COVID-19 related factors.
4. Conclusions and Implications: Findings underscore the critical role of housing environments in shaping vulnerability to IPV, particularly under conditions of enforced proximity during public health emergencies. Policies that consider housing quality and space in violence prevention strategies are needed to better protect individuals, especially women, during crises. This study contributes to deeper understanding of how structural conditions, such as inadequate housing, intersect with interpersonal violence and public health.