DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS AT RISK

EXPERTS REVEAL THAT AUSTRALIA’S FORCED HOME ISOLATION IS FUELLING AN INCREASE IN DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE – NOT ONLY IN AUSTRALIA, BUT AROUND THE WORLD

- Lauren Irvine

More women than ever are phoning family violence hotlines as a direct result of the government’s strict lockdown laws to slow the spread of COVID- 19. While from a medical standpoint, Australia has been much more successful than other countries at keeping the virus under control and flattening the curve, it comes at a high price for some – particularly those stuck under the same roof as their abusers.

In the past two months there has been a 75 per cent increase in Google searches of how to escape family violence.

Women’s Safety NSW – a representative body for women’s domestic and family violence services in the state – reported that 40 per cent of its counsellors had seen an upsurge in client numbers.

Horrifyingly, abusers are also using the current health crisis itself to exert control. In just one week, domestic violence resource centre Wayss received six separate reports of such incidents in Victoria. “Perpetrators have actually used COVID-19 as a form of abuse, telling their partner that they have the virus, therefore, they can’t leave the house,” Wayss chief executive Liz Thomas told the ABC. They’re also “inviting people into the house where the woman is self-isolating, saying that the visitor has COVID-19 and he’s going to infect them.”

It’s a trend we’re seeing not only in Australia, but around the world. At the height of the pandemic in China, incidents of family violence more than tripled, and local doctors are concerned the same might happen here if the crisis drags on. We’ve seen similar numbers in the UK, where 16 women were murdered by their partners between March 23 and April 12 – more than three times the 10-year average for that period.