Housing Insecurity among Black Women Surviving Intimate Partner Violence during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Intersectional Qualitative Approach

Background. To investigate housing experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic among Black women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) who are also navigating racism, sexism, and classism. Methods. From January to April 2021, we conducted in-depth interviews with 50 Black women experiencing IPV in the United States. Guided by intersectionality, a hybrid thematic and interpretive phenomenological analytic approach was used to identify sociostructural factors shaping housing insecurity. Results. Our findings demonstrate the various ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic shaped Black women IPV survivors’ ability to obtain and sustain safe housing. Five themes were derived to capture factors contributing to housing experiences: challenges with separate and unequal neighborhoods; pandemic-related economic inequalities; economic abuse limitations; mental toll of eviction; and strategies to maintain housing. Conclusions. Obtaining and maintaining safe housing during the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult for Black women IPV survivors who were also navigating racism, sexism, and socioeconomic position. Structural-level interventions are needed to reduce the impact of these intersecting systems of oppression and power in order to facilitate the resources necessary for Black women IPV survivors to identify safe housing.


Background
In the U.S., the primary and secondary consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic placed Black women at elevated risk for adverse mental and behavioral health. 1,2 Historically, occupation segregation, driven by structural racism and sexism, contributed to the overrepresentation of Black women employed in essential work and low-wage occupations (e.g., childcare). 3,4 Consequently, Black women employed in essential work and their families were at disproportionate risk of COVID-19 exposure. 4 In some states, Black women had a higher mortality rate due to COVID-19 compared to white women and men, 5 and experienced the highest unemployment rate during the COVID-19 pandemic. 6, 7 The economic vulnerabilities that Black women endured were imposed by structural determinants, exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and situated women at greater risk for intimate partner violence (IPV).
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Black women reported some of the highest IPV prevalence nationally, 8 and IPV prevalence increased during the pandemic. 9,10 Tensions between intimate partners regarding work-life con icts and economics during the pandemic may have disrupted relationship dynamics and put women at risk for IPV. 10,11 Particularly, experiencing job loss during the pandemic may have led to fewer resources, created additional nancial strain in a relationship, and this may have manifested into relationship con icts. Additionally, having an essential job requires in-person activities, and leads to greater risk of viral exposure for the employee and their family, which could result in con icts if intimate partners misalign on the "cost" of this risk. Contextualizing the landscape of IPV and economics for Black women during the pandemic is particularly important. Speci cally, the wage gap demonstrates the devaluation of U.S. Black women's work as women are severely underpaid 12 ; additionally, 75% of Black mothers are primary earners. 12 Navigating these economic vulnerabilities during the pandemic could have exacerbated the risk of IPV for Black women and their families.
The socioeconomic rami cations of the COVID-19 pandemic increased housing insecurity, which may impede access to safe housing for Black women surviving IPV. Intimate partners who use economic abuse may misappropriate nances and damage credit, 13 which further places survivors' housing in jeopardy. The impacts of economic abuse may be more pronounced due to the increased economic vulnerabilities superimposed by the pandemic. Stay-at-home orders and social distancing policies also forced IPV survivors to be "housed" with abusive partners, and isolated from informal social support. 10 Some survivors had few options for safe housing and were forced to stay in abusive relationships during the pandemic. 14 Furthermore, Black IPV survivors may have experienced rental discrimination due to racialized gendered stereotypes of Black womanhood and property owners' efforts to prevent "nuisance" citations. 15 Maintaining safe adequate housing was a public health concern during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, very little is known about how Black women experiencing IPV at diverse intersectional positions navigated the housing crisis and how these experiences are linked to interlocking systems of privilege and power (e.g., racism, sexism). Intersectionality is a social justice-oriented theoretical framework, which posits that multiple intersecting identities at the individual-level can re ect interlocking systems of privilege and power. 16,17 In the context of Intersectionality, Black women experiencing IPV with social identities of race, gender, and homeownership status re ect macro-level systems of racism, sexism, and socioeconomic position (SEP). While emerging research has examined the impacts of the pandemic on IPV incidence and housing insecurity separately, very little attention has been given to Black women who are situated at multiple axes of identity and oppression. Therefore, this qualitative study sought to describe Black women's experiences nding, obtaining, and maintaining safe housing during the COVID-19 pandemic while navigating sociostructural challenges.

Methods
In 2021, Black women IPV survivors were recruited through yers disseminated by domestic violence agencies and social media to participate in a qualitative interview. Flyers stated that this was a study on Black women's experiences with relationship con icts and housing during the pandemic. Inclusion criteria included: self-identi ed as Black cisgender female; resided in the U.S.; reported ≥ 1 form of IPV within the past six months (i.e., physical, sexual, psychological); and ≥ 18 years. Interviews were conducted to elicit personal narratives of housing during COVID-19. The semi-structured interview guide contained questions regarding pandemic impacts on housing and interpersonal relationships (Supplementary File 1). Analytical memos were created after each interview, and the interviewers debriefed weekly. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and lasted on average 60 minutes. Participants were remunerated $45.
All participants provided oral consent. The [Institution masked for peer review] IRB approved all study procedures.
Interviews were conducted, coded, and analyzed by Black cisgender women. Interviews were analyzed using a hybrid thematic and interpretative phenomenological approaches. 18 Thematic analysis requires looking across the data to identify themes. 19 Interpretative phenomenological analysis focuses on understanding the experience of the "participant in context" and prioritizes their experience. 19 Five coders read and coded two initial transcripts, and discussed memos to develop the codebook iteratively. The codebook contained deductive codes based on prior literature on IPV and housing. 14,15,20,21 Inductive codes were also identi ed. Weekly meetings were held to discuss inconsistencies in code application and discuss prior assumptions that shaped interpretation. All transcripts were coded in Dedoose. The PI (also a coder and interviewer) reviewed all excerpts under the Housing parent code and categorized excerpts to create superordinate themes describing participants' lived experiences. Pseudonyms were used for participant's con dentiality. Table 1 summarizes characteristics for 50 Black women participants. Five themes demonstrate Black women IPV survivors' housing experiences during the pandemic: challenges with separate and unequal neighborhoods; pandemic-related economic inequalities; economic abuse as a factor limiting housing options; strategies to maintain housing during the pandemic; and the mental toll of eviction. We discuss how homeownership status, as indicative of their SEP, may shape their experiences. Table 2 displays additional quotes. According to this homeowner, her community, with Black leadership, was enduring divestment than neighboring counties with more white residents. This homeowner recognized that white counties received more resources than Black counties due to race. This racial disparity may leave residents feeling excluded from attaining the necessary resources needed to support themselves and their networks.

Results
Black women homeowners, especially those residing in racially segregated communities, were also dealing with the consequences of gentri cation like police-perpetrated discrimination. For example, Chantel re ected on how gentri cation has changed her ability to mobilize in her home and neighborhood: "I feel like I've been traumatized multiple times and been stopped by the police inside of my complex because I have locks in my hair. I feel like I'm being picked on. I feel like we're being picked on. That's one of the things when it comes to policing in communities like mine, especially because we're being gentri ed." (26 + years old, Washington, DC, Homeowner) Chantel's experience of gentri cation and policing aligns with the postindustrial policing hypothesis. The postindustrial policing hypothesis postulates that policing strategies becomes more aggressive and targets populations (e.g., people of color) when communities are being gentri ed. 22 The mental toll of evictions Women experienced anxiety when they faced potential eviction due to the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic described above: "I worry about it [eviction]. In the next couple weeks, where are we going to go?" (Jayla, 26 + years old, Texas, Homeless) The anxiety related to an eviction also resonated with women seeking shelter with domestic violence agencies. Participants shared that shelters were dismissing residents. Kehlani noted "When I was in the shelter, they were talking about letting people go. That was scary." (26 + years old, Texas, Apartment Renter) Furthermore, survivors who were enrolled in existing housing programs were being asked to leave during the housing crisis: "Yes, I was scared because when the pandemic hit really hard, I was in [Independent Living Program], and they said I overstayed my 18 months. They said, "In July, you have to go." She put me on a move-out plan in March. The closer I got to that day, and people kept telling me I was ineligible to move, I kept getting scared. I could not get an apartment. And the rst thing I was scared of was being homeless." (Latrice, 26 Guided by Intersectionality, 16,17 our ndings underscore how racism, sexism, and SEP shaped women's housing experiences across diverse homeownership statuses.
In this study, racial residential segregation was a key obstacle for Black women IPV survivors overall; however, women homeowners' narratives emphasized the impacts of gentri cation. Black women described how racialized housing practices constructed racially segregated areas, which have endured disinvestment and a lack of resources. Some Black women IPV survivors who were renting homes were residing in racially segregated neighborhoods with limited access to resources needed to ourish.
Racialized housing practices also impede Black women IPV survivors' ability to leave their relationship and nd housing in non-segregated neighborhoods with more resources. Moreover, Black women IPV survivors who were homeowners experienced hyperpolicing and discrimination in gentrifying communities. Hyperpolicing may occur in gentrifying communities to protect the interests of middle-class white people, and real estate assets. 25 Consequently, these demographic and real estate changes in gentrifying communities could increase the incidence of discrimination experienced by Black women IPV survivor homeowners. Hyperpolicing may also hinder formal help-seeking behaviors from Black women IPV survivor homeowners who have concerns about being perceived as an "aggressor" and the likelihood of a dual arrest during a domestic violence call to the police. 26-28 Structural racism like racial residential segregation and gentri cation have long-lasting impacts on housing stability for Black women IPV survivors; and during the pandemic, these preceding structural conditions made it more di cult for women to leave their abusive relationship.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and wages were a central component of discussions with Black women IPV survivor renters. Black women renters described being unable to afford rent and other housing needs due to the transition from fully employed to underemployed or unemployed. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a high underemployment and unemployment rate among Black women, 6,7 and a wage loss elevated the risk for eviction and homelessness. 29 The economic impact of the pandemic worsens existing inequities: Black women are severely underpaid due to the intersecting effects of racism and sexism. 12 The economic vulnerabilities that Black women IPV survivors experienced during the pandemic disproportionately placed women at increased risk of future victimization and put renters, in particular, at greater risk of being caught in a cycle of homelessness and IPV.
Relatedly, Black women's descriptions of the impacts of economic abuse on their housing insecurity may re ect how IPV occurs during a crisis (e.g., pandemic). Increases in IPV during and after natural disasters can be due to housing and nancial disruptions. 30 Given the widespread economic impact of the pandemic, abusive partners used economic abuse against Black women as a mechanism of control. Black women IPV survivors' experiences of economic abuse also re ects the simultaneous sexism and SEP they bear in their relationship. Speci cally, instead of obtaining work outside the home, some women were forced by their partners to stay in the home, which represents unequal power dynamics in the household (gendered domestic space). 31 Further, economic abuse manifesting as partners defaulting on credit accounts and accumulating unpaid bills, debilitates Black women's asset-based resources, an indicator of SEP and health. 32 Altogether, our ndings indicate that economic abuse contributed to housing insecurity during the pandemic among Black women IPV survivors while also reinforcing sexism and SEP.
Black women survivors in this study described their concerns about eviction, and strategies they used to maintain their housing during the pandemic. Women renting and in domestic violence shelters discussed the stress they experienced due to a potential eviction. During the pandemic, the need for domestic violence shelters was heightened, but the mandated physical distancing policies created additional barriers to meet this housing demand. 33 Therefore, current shelter residents were at risk of needing alternative housing. Black women IPV survivors also enacted "survival" strategies to maintain their housing. Speci cally, survivors who were renting had to sacri ce other necessities to pay rent, while homeowners exchanged their material assets to pay their mortgage. This difference in resource allocation aligns with women's SEP such that Black women survivors in different SEPs have varying levels of resources to navigate the stress of housing insecurity. Black women survivors without tradeable resources, utilized emotional appeals to property owners or depended on the state's implementation of eviction moratoriums.