As coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, more and more people are either entering self isolation quarantine or working from home when businesses decide to close. While the thought of getting to hang out at home and work in your pyjamas for two weeks might sound good to a lot of people, experts are warning that quarantine may lead to a spike in domestic violence against at-risk women stuck at home.
China saw a massive spike in domestic violence cases during their lockdown period, when people were forced to spend entire days inside with their abusers. Some places have recorded triple the amount of domestic violence reports compared to this time last year. The spike was very noticeable and very severe.
Dr Merrindahl Andrew, Program Manager of Australian Women Against Violence Alliance has said that here in Australia, services were already in the middle of an influx of calls for help. After Hannah Baxter (née Clarke) and her kids Laianah, Aaliyah and Trey were murdered in a car fire by the children’s father, people have been reaching out more than they usually would.
“The services are already experiencing spikes in demand because of that,” Dr Andrew said.
“The underlying level of resourcing for services is already too low so when there are crises overlapping then we can expect that there’ll be even more problems.”
Basically Australia’s under-resourced domestic violence frontline is looking at having to deal with an overlap in crises. While they were struggling with the weight of one, it’s yet to be seen how they’ll handle two at once.
It’s a scary time for a lot of people, and that can’t be overlooked. For women experiencing domestic violence, quarantine could also be a physically dangerous time as well, working within a system that already struggles to provide for everyone who needs them.
If you or someone you know is struggling with issues related to domestic violence, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or 1800 RESPECT for support services.