Law professor studies impact of coronavirus lockdown on domestic violence

Using 911 call records and mobile device location data to study the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on domestic violence, Sarath Sanga, associate professor of law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, says there’s an urgent need to quantify the physical and psychological burdens of prolonged lockdown policies.

Sanga recently co-authored “The Impact of the Coronavirus Lockdown on Domestic Violence” with Justin McCrary of Columbia University Law School. They found that the percent of people at home sharply increased at all hours, and nearly doubled during regular working hours, from 45 to 85 percent. Domestic violence increased 12 percent on average and 20 percent during working hours. 

Sanga is available to speak with reporters on this issue and the findings of his paper. He can be reached at sanga@northwestern.edu.

Quote from Professor Sanga
“Domestic violence is up nationwide, especially the rate of first-time abuse, and it’s happening during the hours that most adults and children would have otherwise been at work or in school.”