SAN DIEGO \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>The Golden State is losing its luster.\u00a0A troubling new report labels physical and sexual violence in pandemic-era California a statewide \u201cepidemic.\u201d To put it simply, violence is on an alarming rise.<\/p>\n According to the new annual report from the California Study on Violence Experiences across the Lifespan <\/em>(CalVEX), violence statistics have seen a significant increase since COVID-19 emerged. The report, conducted by scientists at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, reports more than one in six Californians (18%) experienced either physical or sexual violence in just the past year. Meanwhile, one in every 25 Californians experienced intimate partner violence<\/a>.<\/p>\n Overall, rates of both physical and sexual violence have seen an uptick since the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> began, with physical violence nearly doubling among men between 2020-2022. Study authors say demographic disparities in the results may provide further insight into potential contributing factors that could have been exacerbated during the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornians are experiencing violence at epidemic proportions,\u201d says principal investigator Anita Raj, PhD, professor at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Division of Social Sciences, in a press release<\/a>. \u201cCurrent violence<\/a> prevention efforts are clearly woefully inadequate and often ignore the gendered nature of violence, its intersections with other socioeconomic vulnerabilities and its disproportionate effects on marginalized populations.\u201d<\/p>\nHow was violence that wasn\u2019t reported measured?<\/h3>\n
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