A Double Pandemic: Covid-19 and Domestic Violence
A Double Pandemic: Covid-19 and Domestic Violence
COVID-19 has impacted the world greatly with strict restrictions on stay at home orders, especially throughout the United States. While the shelter in place has been shown to help decrease the number in cases for the coronavirus, domestic violence cases seem to be on the rise. In a home with domestic violence, it is crucial for the victim to be away from the home as much as possible to avoid any altercations with the perpetrator. “Many victims find themselves isolated in violent homes, without access to resources or friend and family networks” (ICISF 2020). The heightened increase in domestic violence could be for several reasons. For the victims, now that shelter in place has been enacted, there is a higher chance for them to not be able to seek the help and resources that they need. “One out of three women in the world experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the World Health Organization, making it the most widespread but among the least reported human rights abuses” (Godin, 2020).
During these lockdown restrictions, victims are more exposed to abuse in their households. These are stressful times and the known financial circumstances especially, can cause a lot of tension. More often than not, perpetrators take out their anger and stress on the victims. In France has indicated a 30 % increase in domestic violence reports, Brazil estimates domestic violence reports have jumped 40–50 %, and Italy has also indicated reports of domestic violence are on the rise (Campbell 2020). It is crucial, now more than ever, that welfare checks are being done.
References
Bettinger-Lopez, C. (2020, May 13). A Double Pandemic: Domestic Violence in the Age of COVID-19. Retrieved June 22, 2020, from https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/double-pandemic-domestic-violence-age-covid-19
Campbell A. M. (2020). An increasing risk of family violence during the Covid-19 pandemic: Strengthening community collaborations to save lives. Forensic Science International: Reports, 2, 100089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsir.2020.100089
Godin, M. (2020, March 18). How Coronavirus Is Affecting Victims of Domestic Violence. Retrieved June 19, 2020, from https://time.com/5803887/coronavirus-domestic-violence-victims/