TW: Mentions domestic abuse and violence.
I have now been a survivor of domestic abuse for two years and eight months. Be it from media giants, social media trends or word of mouth, the Covid-19 lockdown is the first time I have felt this issue has come close to receiving the attention it merits. A survivor survey carried out by Women’s Aid in April 2020 found that 67.4% of survivors who are currently experiencing abuse said that it had gotten worse since Covid-19. Now, we are easing out of lockdown and the initial coverage of the domestic abuse increase is beginning to feel like a distant memory. As the conversation quietens, the harrowing reality of domestic abuse remains deafening for thousands of people in the UK.
Domestic abuse was a tremendous problem in the UK even before the Covid-19 lockdown came along to worsen it. According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales of year ending March 2019, an estimated 7.5% of women (1.6 million) and 3.8% of men (786,000) experienced domestic abuse in the last year. The Domestic Abuse Bill has progressed in recent years and more people than ever, particularly those with large social media followings, are speaking out publicly to share their stories and raise awareness. Yet, despite our voices finally starting to be heard, domestic abuse remains a startling reality. Lockdown or no lockdown, domestic violence killings in the UK reached a five year high in September 2019.
Emerging discourse around domestic abuse in the UK appears to be very much centred around comments such as “it must be awful being stuck in a house with someone like that” or “oh their only respite must have been when themselves or their partner was at work, now lockdown has taken that away from them”. These are valid comments, but they somewhat insinuate that lockdown is the problem. It is not.
Perpetrators are unlikely to have learned ‘how to abuse’ during lockdown. The likelihood is that these relationships were already abusive, and lockdown has tragically provided the perfect environment for these to manifest, intensify and worsen.
Domestic abuse happens in many forms and may be worsened by the presence of certain circumstances, but its root cause is almost always the perpetrators choice to try to gain power and control over the victim. Even when the abuser is not physically present, they often use other means to control their victim by using phones, even ‘recruiting’ others to keep an eye on the victim and report back to the abuser.
The effects of domestic abuse are often only deemed news-worthy when it is physical – therefore making it visible. And yet emotional, psychological, financial, and sexual abuse are also very real and can be just as traumatising and damaging for the victim. However, lockdown has meant that more people are at home for longer, which may increase the chance of domestic abuse intensifying and manifesting itself physically- which is arguably the most detectable form of abuse as it is the only type that leaves visible damage on the victim. Therefore, it is easier to effectively report and give evidence.
As we are returning to our more social way of life, it is likely that banana bread baking, partaking in weekly zoom quizzes and pruning our gardens to compensate for our lack of human connection will become rituals of the past. What needs to be ensured is that the new conversations, empowered voices and strengthened fight against domestic violence in the UK do not meet the same fate as these forgotten lockdown trends. It is so important to understand that lockdown did not cause a rise in the number of abusers as such, but rather a rise in the severity and frequency of abuse perpetrated in pre-existing cycles of abuse in the UK.
If we are really trying to help victims and break cycles of abuse, we need to address domestic abuse with the same force, resources, and national effort as though it is a pandemic in and of itself.
Jessica Morris
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Featured image retrieved from YouGov.
