Domestic abuse victims during coronavirus is impacting not only our daily lives but some more than others. The pandemic has not only threatened their physical and mental health but also their safety.
It is useful to examine the impact that the lockdown has had on domestic abuse figures, the rationale behind this, along with strategies for prevention for the future.
Figures of domestic abuse
Domestic abuse is a global problem responsible for more than 87,000 female deaths in 2017 (UNODC, 2018:15). We know that women are disproportionately affected by domestic abuse under ordinary circumstances and the lockdown has only served to exacerbate this inequality. The Office for National Statistics in the UK reported that in the year ending 2019, 80 women in the UK had been killed by an ex-partner or intimate partner which equates to a monthly average of 6.6 women (Office for National Statistics, 2020:810). Unfortunately, emerging evidence has shown a global spike in domestic abuses cases and homicides during the COVID-19 lockdown.
