Edited by Nissa Finney, James Nazroo, Laia Bécares, Dharmi Kapadia and Natalie Shlomo

This book illustrates life through the COVID-19 pandemic for ethnic minorities in Britain. Drawing from the Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS), the book presents new evidence of ethnic inequalities and sheds new light on underlying racisms, opening them up to debate as crucial social concerns. Written by leading international experts in the field, this is a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary ethnic inequalities and racism from academics and policy makers to voluntary and community sector organisations.

Bristol, UK: Policy Press. 2023, 234pg

By Cara Ebert, Janina Isabel Steinert:

We study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic violence against women in Germany in 2020. The analysis draws on three data sources: (1) longitudinal administrative data on the volume of help requests to helplines, shelters and counselling services, (2) cross-sectional survey data collected during the first wave of the pandemic, and (3) a qualitative online survey with counsellors and domestic violence experts. The number of violence-related requests at helplines increased significantly by 29% with the first physical distancing measures, whereas ambulatory care services such as shelters experienced a 19% increase in help requests only after physical distancing restrictions were lifted. Our results indicate that individuals substituted help services away from ambulatory care towards helplines. We do not observe exacerbated violence in states with greater mobility reductions, lower daycare capacity for childcare or higher COVID-19 infection numbers. Our findings highlight the importance of providing easily accessible online counselling offers for survivors of violence and governmental financial relief packages.

IZA DP No. 16793 Bonn, Germany: IZA – Institute of Labor Economics, 2024. 47p.

By Santiago M. Perez-Vincent, Ernesto Schargrodsk, and Mauricio García Mejía

This paper studies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown on criminal activity in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. We find a large, significant, robust, and immediate decline in crime following quarantine restrictions. We observe the effect on property crime reported to official agencies, police arrests, and crime reported in victimization surveys, but not in homicides. The decrease in criminal activity was greater in business and transportation areas, but still large in commercial and residential areas (including informal settlements). After the sharp and immediate fall, crime recovered but, as of November 2020, it did not reach its initial levels. The arrest data additionally allow us to measure the distance from the detainees address to the crime location. Crime became more local as mobility was restricted.

Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, 2021. 63p.