Domestic violence is a social issue of great magnitude that has profound consequences for both the mental health and physical well-being of victims. In Puerto Rico, reported cases have increased significantly in recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Despite the seriousness and urgency of this situation, domestic violence has been understudied from the perspective of spatial information sciences. There is limited research analyzing how the relationship between domestic violence and sociodemographic factors changes according to geographical location and time.

This study aims to address this need by analyzing the spatiotemporal effects of domestic violence in Puerto Rico during the 2020-2022 period, corresponding to the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, using a geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model.

Domestic violence data reported by the Puerto Rico Police in the thirteen police regions showed a decrease in reported cases during 2020. However, following the lockdown measures and mobility restrictions implemented during the pandemic, it is still unclear whether this reduction was due to difficulties in reporting incidents and accessing support services, or if there was a genuine decrease in domestic violence cases.

The analysis identified significant spatial patterns of domestic violence at the police region level, with San Juan and Bayamón standing out as persistent hotspots of high incidence. Furthermore, the female population showed a strong positive association with domestic violence cases (GTWR coefficients between 0.5 and over 1.0 in different areas of Puerto Rico). On the other hand, the population of separated individuals showed a moderate to strong positive relationship (between 0.25 and over 1.0), although localized negative associations were observed in the Aguadilla and Mayagüez regions.

Collectively, these findings highlight the importance of considering both geographical factors and changes over time to better understand the dynamics of domestic violence in Puerto Rico and support the development of more effective prevention and intervention strategies.

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