There Has Been A 25% Increase In Domestic Abuse Calls Since The Lockdown

Calls to the National Domestic Abuse helpline have increased by 25% since the lockdown. The rise comes after expert warnings prior to lockdown that domestic abuse cases and homicides would get worse if victims are forced to isolate with their abusers.

According to domestic abuse charity Refuge, which runs the helpline, they have received hundreds more calls in the last week compared to two weeks before lockdown was announced. They also saw a 150% increase in visits to the helpline website last week compared to the last week in February. Prior to the lockdown being announced, the helpline was already receiving 270 calls and contacts per day.

'Ordinarily, the window for women to seek help is extremely limited,' said Sandra Horley CBE, chief executive of Refuge. 'During periods of isolation with their perpetrators, this window narrows further. It is critical that women have alternative, digital ways of accessing help.

'Isolation is often used as a tool to abuse – and while the current lockdown has the potential to exacerbate abuse - it is not the reason for it,' Horley continued. 'Domestic abuse is a crime and is ultimately rooted in power and control. Violence is a choice a man makes. He alone is responsible for it.'

‘It's been bad,’ one anonymous victim told the BBC. ‘I didn't care if I didn't wake up like from the night before... I just knew what was going to happen the next day, I just wanted the days to go past. As soon as he gets up, he tries to cause an argument out of nothing, and if I fire back he'll just hit me.'

According to the BBC, that victim has now fled to a refuge in Wales and is being supported by a charity for vulnerable women and young people called Llamau.

Experts had warned about the increase in domestic abuse incidents since before lockdown began, saying that social distancing and isolating at home with an abusive partner could lead to more homicides.

‘With the weekly outlet of going to work or school removed, victims of domestic abuse will find themselves cut off from the outside world and extremely vulnerable,’ Samantha Jago, a family law partner and mediator at DMH Stallard, told Grazia. ‘With limited space to move around, trying to avoid the relentless mental chipping away and, for some, [physical abuse] is the sad reality of Covid-19.’

Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed last week that lockdown rules do not apply to victims escaping domestic abuse and you can leave the home for this reason. Refuge’s helpline is still running 24 hours a day, seven days a week as staff operate from home. It can also be accessed online through their website, which has a quick exit button to ensure no record is left on the phone or computer.

'Refuge wants every woman who needs support to know where and how to access it,' Horley added. 'If it is too difficult to make a call, women can also access support online, filling in a web form, indicating a safe and secure time to be contacted.'

If you are suffering from domestic abuse and need help, please call Refuge on 0808 2000 247 or visit their helpline website here.

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