Coronavirus: Domestic abuse charities' concern over social distancing

Reporter: Mari Eccles
Date published: 23 March 2020


Domestic violence charities in Greater Manchester have stressed fears that people living in abusive households might not be reaching out for help as they’re stuck indoors – as the coronavirus pandemic makes home life more stressful.

Several services in the region said that they are still offering support for people who need it – but said they expect a reduction in calls as people spend more time at home with abusive partners or relatives.

Data from Italy already shows that fewer people have sought help while stuck indoors as the country is in lockdown.

And services in Greater Manchester fear the same could happen here.

Elaine de Fries, from Manchester Women’s Aid, said: “Obviously, ours is a confidential service and one of the things we encourage is that the perpetrator isn’t present – we say ring when they’re at work, when you’re alone.

"If you are both self-isolating in the same residence, that won’t be possible.”

She said that rates of domestic violence had already been rising in the UK before the coronavirus crisis; 2019 recorded the highest number of domestic violence killings in five years.

And organisations fear that many of the factors that perpetrators often capitalise on – such as victims being away from support networks – could be exacerbated by weeks of self-isolation.

Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson implemented new measures that discouraged social interactions, with pubs, cafes and restaurants closing and many workplaces encouraging home-working.

Schools have also been closed from today.

Data from Italy – which imposed stringent self-isolation measures on its citizens earlier this month in a bid to tackle the virus – suggests that the number of people accessing domestic violence services has dropped.

Italy’s national women’s aid charity D.i.Re told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that several of their regional services had recorded a drop-off in phone calls.

“This is due to the obvious difficulty of women to call, because many believe that the anti-violence centers are “closed” while – although they’re not open to the public – they are all active via telephone and can arrange emergency interventions,” the organisation said.

One of their key messages at the moment is to remind people who experience domestic violence and abuse that, while many organisations are shutting up shop, their services are still available.

And that’s the same message that organisations in Greater Manchester are keen to get across – although they say the way they work is changing.

DIAS said they’re focusing more on text-based services – such as email and text messaging – as well as phone calls, rather than face-to-face interactions.

Helpline
Manchester Women’s Aid: 0161 660 7999.


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