A Domestic Violence Advisor shares her experience of lockdown and life on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic.
We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.'The job has never been more challenging'Domestic Violence Advisors like Jessica* have a big job on their hands at the best of times, safeguarding victims of abuse and removing them from danger. But many abusers are using lockdown as an opportunity to control their victims further and isolation measures present a new barrier in the struggle to keep them safe.
Abusers often deliberately try to isolate victims from family and friends, monitoring their devices – so government enforced isolation orders are a golden opportunity to operate coercive control. Ordinarily, victims might get out to work or do the school pick-up, providing the chance to seek help – but the longer lockdown continues, the more violence can persist, hidden behind closed doors.
We take on cases where there is ‘significant risk of harm’ – those situations which pose the most serious threat to life. Most violence is committed by men against women, but I also support male victims and those in same sex relationships, as well as victims in familial relationships such as siblings, parents, grandparents and children. Some of my most challenging cases are elderly parents being maltreated by adult sons.
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