With the global population being urged to stay at home to reduce the spread of coronavirus, more victims have reported incidents of domestic abuse and violence than ever before.
The UN has recently shared that, ‘help lines in Singapore and Cyprus have registered a more than 30 per cent increase in calls. In Australia, 40 per cent of frontline workers in New South Wales reported more requests for help. In France, domestic abuse and violence cases increased by 30 per cent following the lockdown on March 17. In Argentina, emergency calls for domestic abuse have increased by 25 per cent since the lockdown started on March 20.’
Closer to home, phone calls, emails and website visits to Respect, the national domestic violence charity, have seen a dramatic increase of 97 per cent, 185 per cent and 581 percent respectively. In the first 3 weeks of COVID-19 lockdowns, 14 women and 2 children were murdered in the United Kingdom alone.
The stress and anxieties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown have pushed many families and couples to breaking point. This has meant that support workers, domestic abuse organisations and police have seen their resources stretched to try and help those victims of violence and abuse.
The Cost of Domestic Abuse and Violence
According to the Crime Survey in England and Wales, only 21 percent of domestic abuse incidents are reported to the police, with an estimated one in four women and one in six men experiencing domestic abuse in their lifetime.
Domestic abuse also carries an estimated cost to society of £15.7 billion a year, but with an average of two women dying per week due to domestic violence, the human cost is far higher still.
Studies have also shown that the reports of domestic abuse incidents affect people from all walks of life, but those with a lower income or socioeconomic status are at far greater risk of domestic abuse from partners and family members, both in the UK and overseas.
Many of the people affected by domestic abuse often do not have the available funds to escape their abusers or feel pressured into staying as they have children or other dependants at home. Many women and girls in impoverished countries face homelessness or the wrath of their families should they attempt to leave a relationship fraught with emotional and physical abuse.
Sadly, fleeing a marriage for any reason still carries a stigma in many countries, leaving the victims of domestic abuse trapped in a relationship filled with violence and fear.
Support for victims varies worldwide
Unfortunately, the support available for victims of domestic abuse varies wildly from country to country.
Here in the UK, the Government has stepped up to offer additional support for those looking to leave home due to domestic abuse with free train tickets. Employers have also been encouraged to offer salary advances to victims, but this isn’t true of many other countries.
For example, the support available in developing countries such as Nicaragua, Peru and Zambia is significantly underfunded, with support organisations few and far between to help victims escape their tormenters. The stark link between domestic abuse and violence and poverty is clear for all to see.
Many women who are victims feel they have no choice other than to stay at home or return to their abusers as the lack of shelter and accommodation on offer is sporadic at best.
With the COVID-19 pandemic raging on, many victims are seeing far less of their friends and family members.
Victims often have feelings of being cut off and isolated from those closest to them, and this is, in turn, causes stress and anxiety levels to rise.
In the UK, a growing number of online resources are being made available so victims of domestic abuse can reach out for in a safe manner. These includes apps, signals on Skype or Zoom calls and cryptic messages that can alert a friend or loved one to their situation. But not everyone has access to much of this technology a great number of victims find themselves trapped at home by both the coronavirus and their abusers without the tools needed to ask for help from their support networks.
Cost of coronavirus domestic violence still unclear
Here in the UK, lockdown restrictions are finally beginning to ease which gives victims the opportunity to leave their homes to stay with relatives or to seek accommodation with one of the many organisations dedicated to supporting those who experience domestic abuse and violence.
However, as lockdown restrictions are being further relaxed, the number of reports of domestic violence is failing to follow suit; money worries, the uncertainty of job security and other economic factors surrounding family finances are still causing stress and resulting in further reports of domestic abuse.
Many victims have also stated that delayed evictions from rented housing due to COVID-19 have prolonged the suffering, with couples in toxic and violent relationships still housed in the same property.
How the UK is stepping up to support victims of domestic violence?
As the number of reports for domestic abuse rises, organisations are finally receiving additional funds to help support victims.
Employers are being urged to forward salaries to their employees who have reported an incident to the police and need the funds to leave for alternative accommodation. Local authorities are being urged to provide temporary accommodation to victims in vacant properties across the UK.
Even though court hearings have been delayed due to coronavirus, the National Centre for Domestic Violence has still been supporting victims of domestic abuse by helping to process emergency injunctions and providing both legal and emotional support free of charge.
If you or someone you know needs to take out an emergency injunction against an emotionally or physically abusive partner, our helpline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 0800 970 2070. Alternatively, text the National Centre for Domestic Violence on 60777 and our team will call you back.