The impacts of domestic abuse are far reaching with the victims suffering mental, emotional, social and financial impacts over and above the more commonly thought of physical impacts so it will come as no surprise that Covid-19 had an impact on domestic violence and the domestic abuse support networks on offer.
In this post we outline some of the support networks that are available to UK victims of domestic abuse and point out some of the shocking statistics that show just how widespread domestic abuse was before, during and after the pandemic.
Domestic Abuse before Covid-19
The official England and Wales Crime Survey of March 2020 showed that some 1.6 million women and 757,000 men had experienced domestic abuse between the dates of March 2019 and March 2020.
The staggering amount of individual victims of domestic abuse, totalling 2.35 million was the result of a 7% growth in police recorded domestic abuse crimes for March 2018 to 2019.
Putting this into context, the England and Wales population was 59,642,000 at the time which means that 4% of the entire population of England and Wales were victims of domestic abuse for the period March 2019 and March 2020.
Domestic Abuse during Covid-19
Much has been said about the effects of lockdown and its impact on relationships but just between April and June 2020, there was a 65% increase in calls to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline in the UK.
When you factor in a 12% increase of domestic abuse referrals to Victim Support the week after the mid-May lockdown ending in 2020 there increase in referral to those in need of domestic abuse support is shocking.
it is also disheartening that during the unprecedented times of Covid that so many people suffered abuse at the hands of their loved ones, never-mind that it was made worse due to the societal and psychological impacts of Covid-19 and the lockdowns that were implemented as a public health precaution.
Domestic Abuse after Covid-19
Whilst the rates of domestic abuse in the UK have started to rsubside slightly towards their pre-pandemic rates, we are now beginning to understand the adverse effects that the pandemic had on domestic relationships and the prevalence of domestic abuse.
Dr Katrin Hohl of City, University of London and Dr Kelly Johnson of Durham University developed a project to analyse the impacts of the introduction and subsequent lifting of the UK lockdowns on domestic abuse.
They found that:
- The pandemic lockdowns highlighted the scale of the pre-existing domestic abuse problem.
- That lockdown restrictions kept victims in abusive relationships for longer than if there was no lockdown restrictions.
- That domestic abuse still continued as lockdowns were lifted and COVID-19 restrictions eased.
- That whilst domestic abuse by ex-partner decreased, domestic abuse by a current partner and family member abuse increased dramatically.
- That domestic abusers were able to use the lockdown to intensify or conceal their violence, coercion and abusive control thus prolonging the abuse to their victims.
Dr Katrin Hohl of City, University of London, said of the project that, ‘…the study has meant the police forces now have empirical evidence to say that they need to allocate more resources to domestic abuse case handling.’
Support Networks for Domestic Abuse Victims
As pointed out earlier, the impacts of domestic abuse are not just physical but mental, emotional, social and financial in their scope.
Domestic abuse also doesn’t just impact the adults in an abusive relationship but has profound effects upon the children in an abusive relationship and those impacts can be long lasting and even multi-generational.
So as a society we cannot take domestic abuse lightly and we as a society need to offer our support and financial assistance to the networks that offer valuable intervention, advice, counselling and more to the numerous victims of domestic abuse.
In the UK there will be locally focused charties and support networks for people to access, but the following domestic abuse support networks all have a UK wide service offering.
Victim Support – For assistance in reporting abuse
Women’s Aid – Advice for victims of domestic abuse
Refuge – Emergency refuge accommodation for victims of domestic abuse
Men’s Advice Line – For make victims of domestic abuse
CICA Claims – Criminal Injury Compensation Claims for victims of domestic abuse
A Message of Hope
If you are experiencing domestic abuse or you are in a relationship that feels abusive but you are not certain as it may not be violent, please remember that not all abuse is violent abuse.
Perhaps you feel afraid of, or controlled by, a partner, an ex-partner or family member?
It is important to remember that it’s not your fault and there is no shame in seeking help.
