In France, Great Britain, Spain or India, authorities and aid organizations have more advertisements or calls for help. But even where fewer calls come in, that’s often a bad sign.
The curfew in France was in effect just ten days ago when Interior Minister Christophe Castaner made the following figures public: Reports of domestic violence had increased significantly in the first week of the lockdown – in rural areas, there were therefore 32 percent more security force deployments than in the previous week, 36 percent in Paris. Statistics point to something that has been feared in many places for weeks: the exit restrictions imposed by governments around the world may save lives. At the same time, however, victims of domestic violence are locked up with their tormentors in a confined space – and are even more exposed to them than usual.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on governments around the world to do soTo protect women and girls in their own homes and to take preventive measures. He spoke of a “terrible increase in domestic violence” that the world has seen in recent weeks. Because not only France has noticed an increase in the number of violent crimes reported within their own four walls. Other countries are also reporting worrying developments.
More women are looking for help in Spain, India or China
In the UK, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, the domestic violence counseling service, spoke of an increase of 25 percent of calls compared to the previous weeks. In Spain, the Ministry of Equality said, During the first two weeks of the curfew, 18 percent more calls were made to the national aid hotline than in the same period in February. In India, which has been in lockdown since March 25, reports of violence in the home environment have more than doubled in the first week compared to the beginning of March, the National Commission for Women said. Even in the USA provided several cities an increase in advertisements and calls to help hotlines.
In the Chinese province of Hubei, the initial epicenter of the pandemic, an NGO registered three times more incidents of domestic violence in February than in the same month of the previous year, the Chinese newspaper “Southern Weekend” reported. Domestic violence has also increased in other regions of China, Chinese respected lawyer for women’s rights Li Ying said on the phone. Her aid organization “Yuanzhong” received 20 percent more calls in February than in the same period in 2019. The women who reported also reported more severe forms of violence than Li Ying heard as usual.
When phone calls are next to impossible
However, the number of notifications and calls for help have not increased everywhere where strict exit restrictions have been imposed. In Italy, where quarantine measures have been in force across the country since March 11 and where there is a wide-ranging ban on going out, the police receive fewer reports of domestic violence. The Home Office saw a 43.6 percent drop in the first three weeks of March compared to the same period last year.
“The number of reports has decreased, but not domestic violence.” Maria Gabriella Carnieri Moscatelli, President of the Emergency Call, underlines this Telefono Rosa. “Many women in need cannot make calls in the event of violence and threats. Since the decree, they have been in a cage, under constant control by the other. ” This is especially true for women in small apartments. In the lower class, the lack of income quickly turns into an existential threat – and that promotes conflict and violence.
It is also suspected that many women are currently unable to use the phone the French State Secretary for Gender Equality, Marlene Schiappa. In France, where the curfew has been in effect since March 17, the police and gendarmerie have been contacted more often, which can also be done by the family and neighbors, as well as through one Internet platform set up for this purpose. According to Schiappa, however, significantly fewer women than usual reported on the national advisory hotline.
Elisabeth Liotard confirms that the curfew has made it more difficult for helpers to get in touch with victims of domestic violence. She is the chair of VIFFIL SOS femmes. The support center operates a telephone advisory service in the Rhone department around Lyon and offers women places in emergency shelters and other support. “Women who are stuck at home with violent partners, we try to make it clear that this situation is not permanent and that despite curfew they can go at any time,” says Liotard’s colleague Celine Josserand. Communication is now often done via SMS or email. “Many can only make calls when Monsieur goes out the door.”
Code words in pharmacies
Several countries have now taken measures to counter an increase in domestic violence. In Italy, there are 400 contact points or shelters (“case rifugio”). The offer of help is finely meshed across the country, providing legal and psychological support. Because of the coronavirus, women seeking protection and their children now have to be accommodated separately from others. According to Guarnieri Moscatelli, the Home Office has created additional space in confiscated hotels in recent weeks. The Youpol app locates calls for help and enables intervention even in cases where a detailed telephone call cannot take place. Courts, otherwise mostly closed, are now dealing with domestic violence cases immediately.
In Argentina, too, the increase in domestic violence during quarantine – and the strong mobilization against it – has prompted the government. The murder of Cristina Iglesias and her seven-year-old daughter Ada in a small town in the province of Buenos Aires triggered an outcry in the country at the end of March. The 40-year-old’s life partner, who had isolated himself in their four walls, confessed to the deed. Because several femicides were committed in the first days of the curfew and the number of reports of gender-based violence increased, women’s collectives called for a national protest on March 30. This lured Argentineans across the country to their windows to hit spoons on cooking pots.
Together with the pharmacists’ association, the government has now launched the “Barbijo Rojo” (red face mask) initiative. Since April 1, Argentineans who suffer from domestic violence can ask for help in pharmacies with a code word. As soon as a woman says “Barbijo Rojo”, the staff informs her that the product in question is not available. To supposedly forward this to her, the staff records the personal data of the woman. Then it forwards it to emergency number 144, which will contact the victim.
Fear of going – and of the virus
In France, the government has started to set up focal points in supermarkets together with aid centers. Victims of domestic violence should be able to use one of the few options left for them to leave the house – and seek help. Women in need should also be able to contact pharmacists. Those who are accompanied there by their partner can, as in Argentina, name a code word. Since this was widely disseminated by the media, one or two perpetrators may have noticed it, as Elisabeth Liotard notes. It remains to be seen how the system will work in practice.
Besides, a telephone advisory service has been activated – for men who run the risk of becoming violent and who want to fight it. The government has announced a million euros in financial support for aid centers. The accommodation of women in hotels should also be covered. To quickly create violent partners – which is a priority – stand according to the Ministry of Justice places in accommodation are also available.
It is not easy for many victims of domestic violence to leave, especially during the corona pandemic, says Celine Josserand. As an example, she gives a woman with whom her organization has been in daily contact for two weeks. This was kept in a room by her husband – with her two children. “The three only get food if it suits them. If you want to go to the toilet, you have to ask for permission. ” So far, the woman has not been able to get up to leave her home. She is afraid of finding herself in an emergency shelter with several people – and of being infected with the coronavirus there.
