WILLEMSTAD - As an island, we begin our second lockdown. Even though the future is still unpredictable, maybe this time we know better what to expect. But what does a second lockdown mean for the most vulnerable people for whom every day at home provides less security?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, increases in domestic and family violence have been reported worldwide; the EU has indicated that there are at least 20% more reports of such cases. But why is this? UNICEF has identified several reasons that might have caused this increase, such as reduced or poorer access to education for children, more time online without adult supervision, less access to health services or social networks, and increased stress and alcohol consumption by adults related to job loss and financial concerns (UNICEF, 2020).
There are two serious risks associated with a lockdown: first, that victims are locked in a dangerous home situation without assistance, and second, an increase in the risks that lead to becoming violent. Now that a second lockdown has begun, victims of domestic violence and abuse will face these risks a second time. Fortunately, there are a few concerns we can address better this time, by looking at what we learned from the first lockdown. For example, during the 2020 lockdown, all shelters were closed, leaving victims with nowhere to go to escape their abusers. This time, we can avoid that if the government classifies shelters and emergency services as essential. Other countries have already done this (EIGE, 2020). Research by the European Institute for Gender Equality shows that countries such as Ireland also donate money to shelters for victims of domestic violence (in home-working situations), and have organized digital hearings for such court cases. Countries such as Spain and Lithuania have also strengthened coordination between their emergency services (such as police, justice, child protection and health care). In Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia and France, governments are now required to provide alternative accommodation to victims of violent home situations during COVID; Estonia has also created a fast track "temporary restraining order", which protects the victim from homelessness.
If we look at the reported figures from other countries and world organizations, there is a marked increase in reports of domestic violence. For example, the UK helpline, "Refuge UK", saw a 700% increase in online traffic to their website during the lockdown; victims who are stuck at home with their abuser during lockdown have less space or freedom to speak out loud on the phone. A Belgian study also indicated that 1 in 3 relationships experienced physical or psychological abuse during the lockdown. What was especially interesting from this study was that the risk of abuse was higher for newer relationships than for couples who had been together for much longer. Research has also been conducted in South America showing that there have been more reports of physical, sexual and psychological abuse. These reports were mainly made by young girls (Plan International USA, 2020). In Colombia, reports of domestic violence are up 175% compared to the year before, a trend also seen in El Salvador, with an increase of 70%. Also, the Peruvian Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Populations reported 2,643 complaints of gender-based violence within the first week of lockdown.
So what can we do about this as an island? How can we best protect each other? The current topics are of course very difficult to tackle effectively; In any case, the reported incidents are only a small percentage of what is really going on, but as an island there is a lack of resources to deal with this. On a small scale, we as adults can better monitor children working at home who need to learn digitally and ensure that they are not at risk online. We can keep an eye on our neighbors and contact each other regularly. At a national level, the government needs to keep existing shelters open and help establish new shelters, as well as strengthen our emergency services. We must hold abusers accountable and ensure that victims do not end up on the street, because for many that is even better than staying at home.
Written by Claire Koster as part of the observatory of the Aliansa Foundation