Abuse behind the doors of COVID – 19?
There have been alarming reports of an increase in Domestic Abuse during the COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing. As families remain in close proximity 24/7 there are no respites for an abused individual. School, work or just being apart from an abuser was refuge of precious hours during the days. This space has now been removed with dire consequences.
The Guardian in April 2020 reports that ‘Refuge’ the UK’s largest DOMESTIC ABUSE charity has received ‘a 700% increase in calls to its helpline in a single day, while a separate helpline for perpetrators of domestic abuse seeking help to change their behaviour received 25% more calls after the start of the Covid-19 lockdown.’
Read the full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/12/domestic-violence-surges-seven-hundred-per-cent-uk-coronavirus
Professionals have warned that abusers and the abused being confined to staying at home due to social distancing may have led to this alarming increase.
Resources and support that were once available have now been reduced with no sight of being protected – not even for a few hours a day.
This increase is not just exclusive to the lockdown as the BBC reported a five year high in killings related to domestic abuse in September 2019.
BBC report on deaths due to domestic abuse https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49459674