‘The Shadow Pandemic’ - Domestic Abuse and Covid-19.
Illustration by Megan C. Smith @megsville_design
Walking the high streets during the height of lockdown was dystopian – shops closed, cafes empty, few people walking on the usually bustling pavements. Some might have noticed that the rough sleepers usually sitting along the busy roads like Nicholson Street and Princes Street had disappeared too. Where did they go?
When lockdown was announced in Scotland, accommodation was quickly found for many rough sleepers, usually in hotels, and to give credit to the Scottish Government this was a very quick and positive response. However, Fiona McPhail, Shelter Scotland’s principal solicitor, asserts that “the housing emergency pre-dated COVID-19” and the housing problem is expected to worsen when lockdown restrictions are lifted (quoted in ‘Scottish Housing News’). Why? It is likely that those who were housed in hotels are not given permanent housing and are ‘returned’ to the streets, and a new wave of applicants are expected. This includes women who have fled their homes due to domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is the main cause of women’s homelessness in Scotland.
The Scottish Government define domestic abuse as “controlling, coercive, threatening, abusive, degrading and/or violent behaviours (including sexual violence) perpetrated by a partner or an ex-partner”. Expanding on this, Scottish Women’s Aid assert that domestic abuse “is a pattern of behaviour that instills fear and is used by abusers to maintain control”. The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 had made other non-physical abuses, including psychological abuse, included as domestic abuse.
The United Nations (UN) have reported that during the global pandemic, domestic abuse has increased in countries all over the world, including the UK. The UN have called this the ‘shadow pandemic’. Coronavirus and the subsequent Government responses to prevent the spread of the virus, have had real and severe consequences for women, children and young people who experience domestic abuse. The ‘Counting Dead Women Project’ said that in the first 3 weeks of lockdown 14 women and 2 children in the UK had been killed by domestic abuse, this is over double the average rate.
Scottish Women’s Aid say that calls to Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline have shown that abusers are utilising the Governments coronavirus restrictions – including lockdown, closure of schools, working from home, reductions and closures of services – as tools in their abuse. This includes “increasing their control of women’s movement, keeping them isolated, threatening to expose them to the virus, or discouraging women from seeking help by telling them that services are not operating or that the police will not respond” (quote from Scottish Women’s Aid).
Although the Scottish Government have said that there is nothing in the advice or rules which stop anyone from leaving home due to domestic abuse, the reality is much more nuanced. Limited access to phones and helplines, constantly being around their abuser due to lockdown, disrupted and cancelled public services and public transport all have profound implications. Social distancing measures have also resulted in a reduction in refuge spaces, and many social landlords have frozen allocations of vacant homes which means it is not possible for women and children to move out of refuges.
As we ease out of lockdown it is crucial that support is in place. Labour politician, Yvette Cooper, says “This isn’t just about supporting victims in periods of lockdown. When restrictions are eased and victims try to leave or to return to normal life, the threat to them could be even greater and the need for support will be acute. The emotional, physical and social scars from domestic abuse can last a lifetime. If we don’t act to tackle it now, we will feel the consequences of rising abuse during the coronavirus crisis for many years to come” (quoted in The Guardian).
Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of UN Women, advises countries to support grassroots and women’s organisations, to improve helplines, psychosocial support and online counselling, and to give high priority to incidents of domestic abuse in the police and justice sectors.
Scottish Women’s Aid has also raised that the Scottish Government needs to assess the ways in which their response to coronavirus has had disproportionate effects on those who experience domestic abuse, and on different groups, including BAME women and children, those living in rural areas, and those who are disabled.
Tackling Scotland’s housing crisis should be another priority of the Scottish Government to help in safeguarding those who have experienced or are experiencing domestic abuse.
If you, or somebody you know, is experiencing domestic abuse there is help available.
Important contacts:
● In a case of immediate danger, emergency call: 999 (to make a silent 999 call, wait for the call handler to pick up and make a sound, for example a cough, and press 55)
● To report a crime call: 101
● Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline: 0800 027 1234 (open 24 hours, 7 days a week)
● Rape Crisis Scotland Helpline: 08088 01 03 02
● SHAKTI Women’s Aid (help for BME women): 0131 475 2399
● Text Rape Crisis Scotland: 07537 410027
● Shelter’s free housing advice helpline: 0808 800 4444
● LGBTQ+ Youth Scotland: 0300 999 5428
● Scotland’s Domestic Abuse Website, where you can access more information and can chat online: https://safer.scot/
● Email: help@sdafmh.org.uk
Further Resources:
References:
● BBC, ‘Coronavirus: Domestic violence 'increases globally during lockdown'’. URL- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-53014211/coronavirus-domestic-violence-increases-globally-during-lockdown
● BBC, ‘UK lockdown: Calls to domestic abuse helpline jump by half’. URL- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52433520
● Grierson, J. ‘Domestic abuse surges in coronavirus lockdown could have lasting impact, MPs say’. URL- https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/27/domestic-abuse-surge-coronavirus-lockdown-lasting-impact-mps
● Mlambo-Ngcuka, P. (Executive Director of UN Women), ‘Violence against women and girls: the shadow pandemic’, URL- https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/4/statement-ed-phumzile-violence-against-women-during-pandemic
● Scottish Government, ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on domestic abuse’, URL- https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-domestic-abuse/
● Scottish Women’s Aid, ‘Covid-19 and what it means for women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse’, URL- https://womensaid.scot/covid-19/
● Scottish Women’s Aid, ‘Submission to the Equalities and Human Rights Committee’, URL- https://womensaid.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Equalities-and-Human-Rights-Committee-submission-final.pdf
● Taylor, M. ‘The Margaret Taylor Interview: Fiona McPhail on how Shelter Scotland’s legal team is fighting for homeless people during the COVID crisis’, URL- https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/article/the-margaret-taylor-interview-fiona-mcphail-on-how-shelter-scotland-s-legal-team-is-fighting-for-homeless-people-during-the-covid-crisis