Fears of domestic violence rise as millions confined over virus
With families across Europe confined with their homes to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, fears are rising of a surge in domestic violence.
From Berlin to Paris, Madrid, Rome and Bratislava, associations that help victims of domestic violence have sounded the alarm after Europe overtook China to be the epicenter of the pandemic.
"For many people, their home is already not a safe place," says the German federal association of women's counselling centers and helplines (BFF).
But the stress caused by social isolation is exacerbating tensions and increasing "the chance of domestic and sexual violence against women and children", the association warns.
And the risks are not limited by homes where violence was already a problem before.
On top of the stress due to confinement, fears around job security and financial difficulties are also increasing the probability of conflicts.
"It's putting a whole lot of pressure on households," says Florence Claudepierre, head of the FCPE parents' federation in the Upper Rhine, a region hit hard by the pandemic in France.
She said she actually is hearing stories of "parents who are cracking, who can't keep on" in families that have not previously had any problems.
In China, which is slowly emerging from weeks of total lockdown, the women's rights organisation Weiping has reported a threefold upsurge in reports of violence against women.
In Spain, which includes the second-worst outbreak in Europe after Italy, a 35-year-old mother of two was murdered by her partner last week.
Elsewhere, help centers have noted a drop in demands help -- which isn't necessarily regarded as a good sign either.
For children, young persons and women who are victims of domestic violence -- mental or physical -- the current situation means "being constantly available" for abuse by the perpetrator, the German federation stresses.
Decisions to turn off schools, sports clubs and youth centers are essential to curb the spread of the virus and stop hospitals from being overrun, acknowledges Rainer Rettinger, who heads a German child protection association.
But "who's seeing and hearing abused children today?" he asks.
"Now violence, too, has been confined. That's what we're afraid of," says Martine Brousse, head of Parisian organisation La Voix de l'Enfant (The Child's Voice).
As governments pour billions into their economies and health services, they should "not lose sight of the importance of equality and fundamental human rights," Beatrice Fresko-Rolfo, the overall rapporteur on violence against women for the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, described recently.
Domestic violence associations are facing a double-edged sword: With many social employees having to home based, they cannot reach victims; and when people should be brought to safety, there tend to be not enough places in the refuges.
"Women have called us and told us they are experiencing violence in the home. They are asking: Where may i go?" says Canan Gullu, from Turkey's federation of women's organisations.
In Germany, families minister Franziska Giffey has called on municipalities to arrange alternative reception facilities if necessary, while neighbouring Austria provides guaranteed places in women's refuges or the removal of violent members of the family from quarantined households.
In the countries with the strictest lockdowns, such as for example Italy, victims are exempt from a number of the rules -- including the requirement to transport a document justifying why they are leaving their house -- if they need to search for a refuge center.
"The existing situation is unprecedented," says Adriana Havasova, a psychologist from Bratislava. She hopes the confinement will be limited by several weeks.
If it continues on for a number of months, "I cannot imagine just how much more domestic violence could increase," she warns.
Source: japantoday.com
