When
staying
home
isn’t
safe
Research by the United
Nations shows that ‘home’ is
the most likely place for
women and girls to be killed.
So, while for some home may be a haven during the
pandemic, for many women and children it is a dangerous place
where the threat to their personal safety looms largest.
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe in 2020,
governments issued stay-at-home orders to reduce the
community spread of COVID-19 forcing many women and
children to shelters in homes with their abusers.
Recognising the heightened safety risks to women and
children posed by global lockdowns the United Nations
declared violence against women the “shadow pandemic” in
April 2020.
The lockdowns together with situational stresses, such as job loss, related to the pandemic have created the perfect storm and heightened the frequency and severity of family violence in Victoria.
“With families being stuck at home, with even the playgrounds in our area roped off, this has been a tinder box in many households and has made the circumstances for many women unbearable.”
(family violence practitioner)
59% of Victorian practitioners providing family violence support during the initial lockdown in April and May 2020, reported an increase in the frequency, and 50% reported an increase in the severity, of violence experienced by women.
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The intensified experiences of family violence observed by practitioners during the lockdown are reflected in Victoria Police family violence data. Family violence offending and victimisation increased during the 2020 lockdowns.
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During the Victorian lockdowns between 1 April to 30 September 2020, 34,445 people perpetrated at least one act of police reported family violence. An increase of 9 percent (2,845 people) from the same period in 2019.
Not only are women experiencing
heightened family violence during
the pandemic but some women
are disclosing violence to police
for the first time.
36,152 people experienced at least one incident of police reported family violence between 1 April to 30 September 2020. This was an increase of 9 percent (2,971 people) from the same period in 2019.
Number of police reported family violence incidents per unique victim 2019-2020
The actual rate of violence during
COVID-19 is likely to be higher than
official police figures as many acts of
family violence go unreported to police.
“Demanding women to wash their hands and body excessively to a point [where] women’s skin starts to bleed and become badly irritated; spreading a vicious rumour she’s got COVID-19 so nobody would come near her or help her; taking children away saying she is likely to have/get COVID-19 and is a risk to children.”
(family violence practitioner)
“Partners who are monitoring phone use now have an increased amount of power and control in this domain as the phone is now quite literally the only connection with the outside world.”
(family violence practitioner)
“Women have been very concerned about their phone calls being overheard and not having a safe space to speak freely. Women have often ended phone calls, changed the topic or called back later when it is safe to talk.”
(family violence practitioner)
With people confined to homes and many extended families sheltering together, Victoria has seen an increase in elder abuse.
Children’s experiences of family violence have also heightened during the COVID-19 restrictions.
The number of children experiencing police recorded family violence incidents was higher in every month in 2020 compared to 2019. When the lockdowns were in place from April to September 2020, the number of children witnessing police reported family violence increased over 9% compared to the same time period in 2019.
Monthly percentage increase in the number of children witnessing police recorded family violence 2019-2020
Social isolation and
mental health have
played a significant
role in family
violence during
COVID-19.
The number of family violence victims where isolation and mental health were identified as risk factors by Victoria Police was higher in every month of lockdown in 2020 compared to the same months in 2019.
Number of family violence victims where police identified isolation as a risk factor, 2019/2020
Number of family violence victims where police identified mental health as a risk factor, 2019/2020
Practitioners providing family violence support are on the frontlines of Victoria’s shadow pandemic; reporting stress and burnout responding to family violence during this period of high demand.
Working from home and talking about highly emotional and traumatic situations from their living rooms and sometimes their bedrooms has made maintaining professional and personal boundaries challenging and eroded strategies put in place to safeguard practitioner wellbeing and self-care practices.
“It felt like someone had just poured a heap of concrete on my shoulders because my client had put so much trust and – just all onto me, and I literally felt that weight and it was like okay, it’s up to me to do this for her now.”
(family violence practitioner)
“I currently work out of my bedroom. This makes it difficult to uphold work/life boundaries. It’s not ideal talking about highly emotional/traumatic /violent things in my own bedroom. It taints the feeling of my bedroom being a safe space and it’s more difficult to switch off after work.”
(family violence practitioner)
“We are all working from home which has been emotionally, extremely difficult. Having this work in my bedroom, my safe space, has been frankly awful and has wreaked havoc on my work/life balance and self-care routines. Most significantly of all, not being around my colleagues for support, guidance and debriefing has really been the worst.”
(family violence practitioner)
“In relation to vicarious trauma, it adds another layer being in the home… in terms of there’s no escape.”
(family violence practitioner)
Working remotely in homes away from the support of their colleagues has been extremely challenging.
“So if it’s a difficult situation you can turn around and debrief with someone or go for a walk with a colleague, step out for a coffee, and suddenly without all of that it felt strange.”
(family violence practitioner)
“It’s more isolated. You can’t turn to your colleague and say “What’s happening with this person” or “How can we get some more support around the perpetrator so that the woman has less pressure… It felt different working from home and holding those stories on your own and holding that risk differently, working in a remote way.”
(family violence practitioner)
When dealing with clients experiencing trauma and abuse, peer support and debriefing is central to worker wellbeing and self-care practice.
“It’s challenging to not have a team around you and colleagues to debrief with immediately after a difficult phone call.”
(family violence practitioner)
“Peer to peer support has diminished a lot, that laugh, joke, quick conversation asking a colleague something that they may know is now a lot harder”.
(family violence practitioner)
Bringing family violence work into homes during the pandemic has not only impacted the wellbeing of practitioners but also other individuals sharing homes with them, particularly children.
“It’s something that I’ve always tried to keep away from my children and they are now seeing the stress and… they probably hear certain things as they walk past… and I feel like they’ve been a little exposed to it… So when they see me stressed, they know that someone might be in danger, so they just get stressed as well.”
(family violence practitioner)
“Some of the conversations that we have… it’s horrific stuff. And I know my daughter is 19 but she doesn’t need to hear… some of the stuff that comes through. ”
(family violence practitioner)
The impact of this ‘shadow pandemic’ has been felt by other essential services during the Victorian lockdowns.
During the 2020 COVID restrictions, Victorian women were hospitalised and arrived at emergency departments as a consequence of family violence at higher rates than before the pandemic.
As Victoria entered Stage 4 restrictions in July 2020, hospital admissions for assault by a spouse or domestic partner increased by 80% compared to July 2019.
Emergency Department presentations for neglect, maltreatment and assault by current or former intimate partner
Hospital admissions for assault by a spouse or partner
Throughout 2020 presentations to emergency departments due to family violence increased by an average of 10% each month compared to 2019.
This shadow pandemic of violence against women is not new in Australia. Family violence was declared a national emergency in 2015.
Since this time family violence prevalence rates have remained stubbornly unchanged. At least one woman a week continues to be murdered by a current or former partner.
Family violence remains the leading cause of homelessness for women and children in Australia. Prior to the pandemic, on average 9,120 women a year become homeless in Australia after leaving a violent home and not being able to secure safe long-term housing.
While the demand for family violence support and homelessness services has continued to increase during the pandemic, lockdowns and restrictions on movement have made it harder to access critical support.
With privacy and confidentiality in homes during lockdowns not guaranteed, assessing people’s risk and safety remotely has been challenging.
Governments must urgently act to address Australia’s family violence crisis and support the mental health and wellbeing of practitioners providing these vital services to the Australian community.
Meaningful investment is required to end this national crisis and keep women and children safe and free from violence.
