The UK see’s the number of domestic abuse cases rise since COVID-19 safety measures began

Domestic abuse cases are on the rise with an increase of 10.9 per cent this May amidst lockdown measures, compared to May last year.

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Office for National Statistics data shows a rise in domestic abuse cases in 2020, particularly prevalent amidst the first national lockdown from 23rd of March to 14th of May, in which time cases rose by 11.1 per cent in England and Wales.

A Surrey police constable said that: “The National Domestic Abuse Helpline had a 65 per cent increase in calls between April and June 2020, compared with the first three months of the year.

“The reason these cases have risen since lockdown is because people are at home more together and stress levels have increased. The rise over the last few years, however, is probably also due to more people being aware of how they receive help.” It is not certain as to why cases are rising year on year, but many officials suspect it may demonstrate the growing safety measures and technologies used to make victims feel more secure in reaching out for help.

Fire stations up and down the country are now being recognised by abuse council workers and charities that help shelter women from domestic violence as a safe place to go. Joe Reynolds, a crew commander for the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, said that “there are lots of control measures in place for victims” and increasing secretive tactics for those in need of help, as domestic abuse becomes a growing problem.

“Most calls to the police at the moment are what’s called Charlie Deltas, Civil Disturbances, so it’s not propaganda it's definitely on the rise,” Reynolds said.

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Statistics from Victim Support show that their domestic abuse cases rose by 31.9 per cent between the beginning of lockdown from 23rd March to 17th August.

In the recent BBC Sounds ‘Domestic Abuse and Refuges’ series, it was reported that on average two women a week are killed by their partner in the UK.

In light of the second lockdown, the London Freemasons

began to recognise the spike in domestic abuse cases. Omaid Hiwaizi, Metropolitan communications officer and Freemason, explains how they are “putting together care packages to donate to women’s refuge organisations, Solace and Hestia. These include packages for women, young adults, kids and for babies. The packages contain basic requirements but also toys for children and beauty supplies to ensure that women still feel a sense of self-care”.

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Although it is evident that domestic abuse tends to be worse in cities, perhaps due to being highly populated, could there be a correlation between lower household incomes and higher amounts of domestic abuse cases? “This is a myth really as we attend domestic violence incidents in all areas,” the Surrey police constable said.

Questions have also emerged as to whether the rise in drinking at home more frequently during the months of COVID-19 safety measures has had an impact on the rise in domestic abuse cases. The Surrey police constable said “the less affluent areas tend to have more drug/drink related fuelled incidents but overall the coercive, controlling behaviours can be from any type of area”, with coercive cases on the rise.