Violence Against Frontline Healthcare Workers in India: A Growing Menace in COVID-19 Times

Abstract

Our study aimed to understand the role of situational factors in instigating people to perform violence against frontline healthcare workers during the coronavirus disease outbreak in India. We performed a thematic analysis of secondary data, collected from online web pages of leading national and regional newspapers. The study proposed a framework linking situational factors and violence through the mechanism of emotional dynamics that led to aggression (stress, tension, and anger). Existing literature suggests that environmental and cognitive factors influence human learning and behaviour, and there is a chronological sequence of several activities to reach the point of committing violence. The current study identified three thematic areas: information deficit, mistrust in government actions, and socio-economic insecurities based on situational factors. False beliefs, rumours, lack of relief material, doubt in government actions, communication gap, and fear for life, land and livelihood were identified as situational factors. The study contributes to building a stronger theoretical foundation for the existing literature and filling the gap in effective intervention strategies for preventing such violent acts in the near future.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• violence
• healthcare workers
• attacks
• India