Quarantine is Causing an Increase in Domestic Violence Rates

Ever since the closure of schools, workplaces and public spaces due to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, there has been an influx of domestic violence reports. 

On top of people losing their jobs, losing access to food and health resources, numerous police departments across the nation have reported increased text messages and calls to domestic abuse hotlines. 

“In Chicago, the number of people seeking help has increased significantly in recent weeks. During the first week of March, 383 people called a domestic violence hotline in the city,” said reporter Julie Bosman in an article with New York Times. “By the end of April, the weekly number had soared to 549.”

Since lockdown forces an abuser and their victim to be stuck at home, abusers have been using COVID-19 limitations to further control, abuse and cut off access for victims. However, domestic violence rates in urban areas like New York and Los Angeles have decreased according to the New York Times. 

“Those stats are very scary,” Queens district attorney Melinda Katz said in an interview with New York Times. 

Along with this peak, there has also been a drop in calls and texts from abuse victims in some places. This decrease most likely indicates an inability to contact domestic abuse hotlines, due to close proximity to abusers and inability to escape difficult situations. 

“Where domestic violence arrests have fallen nearly 40 percent,” Katz said. “The problem we think people are having is how to notify us.”

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the drop in calls doesn’t signify a drop in abuse cases, it signifies a restriction on access to communication with authorities and officials who can help with violence cases. 

Pertaining to Orange County, according to ABC news, “Other cities including San Diego, Anaheim, Burbank and Santa Rosa have reported little change, while calls in Fresno County spiked in March but declined into April.”

For people currently facing domestic violence crises, the National Domestic Violence Hotline provides online chatting services, informational resources and calling and texting hotlines.