People are advised to stay at home due to coronavirus but what if the home is also a dangerous place. Domestic violence is a serious problem and most of the women and children have been the victims of it for many years. The lockdown around the world for stopping the spread of the coronavirus has brought more trouble in their lives and increased the risk of a surge in the cases of domestic violence. Social distancing and home isolation seem a good and right step to save the lives of the people but on the other hand, it has made the situation worse for the women who are being abused by their partners. Abusers use power and control to intimidate, isolate, threaten, blame and coerce the women. As the restrictions come into force by the Government, the cases of domestic violence have increased at an alarming rate in many countries. Women who are facing this act of violence have no idea how to break out and escape from this situation during the days of quarantine. Countries like Pakistan, China, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Australia, and France are reported for the violence during the period of lockdown since March 2020. In Europe France already has one of the highest rates of domestic violence country. According to official figures around 219000 women from teenagers to the age of seventy-five are abused physically or sexually by partners or abusers but only 20% of cases are reported. It is reported that every three days one woman is killed by its partner.
Currently, the interior minister of France, Christophe Castaner shows his full concern and interest in the issues of domestic violence. He says that reports of the domestic violence have jumped by more than 30% across the country (36% in Paris, 32% elsewhere including two murders), since it went into lockdown on March seventeenth, 2020. Furthermore, he says the government is going to introduce new measures for people facing abuse and which they will be given the facility of call for help during quarantine days. He further said that standing along with the victims of domestic violence and fighting against it is the priority of government therefore police is on high alert. He added that a code system would be developed for victims. Spain has already introduced a code system where victims have to go to a pharmacy and request a ‘’mask-19” a code word that will alert the pharmacist to contact authorities. Currently, victims of domestic violence in France can call3919 for help. The government of France has also announced an extra one million euro in funding for anti-domestic abuse organizations to help the victims to respond to increasing demand for services.
Moreover, in the Hubei province of China domestic violence reports to police have increased which have reached more than triple during lockdown from 47 last year to 162 this year, activists told local media. As the area goes into lockdown in late January, the cases of domestic violence have doubled told the Wan Fei, founder of anti-domestic violence non-profit to the Shanghai-based outlet Sixth Tone. In Spain despite extremely strict rules of lockdown people are being fined for violating them. In this regard, the government has allowed victims of domestic abuse to leave home if they are being abused and report it to the nearest police station. But in the coastal province of Valencia, after five days of lockdown first case of murder appears when a woman was killed by her husband in front of their children. Jamie Borman, Deputy Director, crisis line and the safe house of central Georgia say there has been a rise in domestic violence cases after COVID-19 lockdown. Columbus also sees a spike in domestic violence because of the coronavirus outbreak. It is reported that 60 domestic violence cases arise in the last week of the march. In Arizona, according to the Phoenix police department, domestic violence service calls have jumped in the last two weeks. So the abuse could increase due to social distance and quarantine. High stress and fear are only acting as triggers for abusers but despite restrictions, the services and shelter for victims are still available.
The downtown of Houston also shows an increase in domestic violence calls during this pandemic. It is reported by the activists that a 25% increase in the cases this time as compared to the last month and a 50% increase to this time than last year. Moreover, in the US an average of nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by their partners. Apart from these, many other countries have reported domestic violence cases during the period of isolation. Such as, Brazil rises to 40% to 50%, in Italy activists said calls to helpline had dropped sharply but instead they were receiving desperate text messages and emails. As the women are not only facing the fear of deadly virus outside their homes but also abuser inside their homes.. In Germany, the green party’s parliamentary leader, Katrin Goring Eckardt, called on the government to free up the safe houses for women victims. As the lockdown after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has extended the risk of the victims, therefore, the governments, police departments, and service centers have become more active all over the world for providing their full support to those who are in serious trouble.
