[Vol.85] Roaring Flames of Domestic Violence Sparked by COVID-19

Covid-19 has made many different changes in our society. It has increased anxiety and stress levels, locked people in a home, and more than anything, sparked the flames of domestic violence. The World Economic Forum reported that domestic violence, especially towards kids and women, is increasing during the pandemic. The governments of each country reported that the number of domestic violence reports has increased by 42% during the first French blockade, and the number of emergency calls for violence against women (from January to September) increased by 24% compared to the same period last year in Spain.

Here's an interview from The New York Times. A 26-year-old woman named Lele found herself entangled in more and more arguments with her husband, with whom she now had to spend every hour in their home in eastern China. On March 1, while Lele was holding her 11-month-old daughter, her husband began to beat her with a chair. She says, one of her legs lost feeling and she fell to the ground, still holding the baby in her arms. A photograph she took after the incident shows the high chair lying on the floor in pieces, two of its metal legs snapped off — evidence of the force with which her husband wielded it against her. Another image documents Lele’s injuries: nearly every inch of her lower legs were covered in bruises, a huge hematoma blooming on her left calf.

Lele — her full name is not being used for her safety — said that her husband had abused her throughout their six-year relationship, but that the Covid-19 outbreak made things far worse. “During the epidemic, we were unable to go outside, and our conflicts just grew bigger and bigger and more and more frequent,” she said. “Everything was exposed.” After her husband attacked her with the high chair, Lele limped to the next room and called the police. When they arrived, however, they only documented the attack, then took no further action. Next, she hired a lawyer and filed

for divorce — only to find that the epidemic had cut off that avenue of escape, too. Her divorce proceeding was postponed until April. She is still waiting for the court’s decision. And finding a new home amid the outbreak proved difficult, forcing Lele and her daughter to continue to live with their abuser for weeks. It is a pattern playing out around the world.

What has made domestic violence so worse? According to the magazine Psychology Today, economic insecurity and joblessness, stress, alcohol, and isolation are causes for the increased number of domestic violence. Indeed, National Institute of Justice research has shown that IPV (intimate partner violence) is more likely (and more severe) in economically distressed households. For example, studies from the University of Kentucky found that increases in unemployment during the 2008 recession are correlated with a greater number of reported cases of IPV. Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented job loss at its fastest pace since the Great Recession.

The pandemic is pushing us into an ongoing state of risk and worry, and eventually triggers an overexposure of the stress hormone cortisol and increases aggression.

Alcohol is widely considered to be a key predictor of IPV, primarily due to its disinhibitory effect on aggression. As the nation has sheltered at home, sales of alcohol have skyrocketed, with U.S. online alcohol sales of Nielsen(a leading global data and analytics company) rose as much as 243 percent.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has made people is one of the most common tactics employed by perpetrators of IPV. By isolating victims from friends, family, and any outside contact, abusers can assert control over the victim’s entire environment. Social isolation can lead to the normalization of abuse and allow abusers to more easily engage in gaslighting techniques.

However, some regions including Korea have received fewer calls for the emergency number for domestic violence. This is a red-lighted situation meaning the difficulty of reporting, not the decrease of violence.

These are the reasons why reports have decreased.

The first reason is that it is difficult to ask for help due to the COVID-19 situation. Prolonged Covid binds family members and makes the victim inaccessible to rescue calls. Besides many would ask themselves: which is safer, staying at home with my abuser, or going to a shelter that might be contaminated? The second reason is that safety supports aren’t accessible in a meaningful way. Even though reporting, it is difficult to use legal services or shelters for victims due to social distancing. It is estimated that only about 10% of (about a total 120,000) runaway youth in Korea in 2020 are protected by the shelter. Despite the 75% increase (compared to the previous year) in the number of cyber counseling cases, the number of shelters for youths has been cut in half due to the coronavirus, and face-to-face support for youth in crisis has been stopped. Unprotected runaway youths are homeless in sub-zero weather due to the suspension of business facilities at night, and the number of victims of fraud and sex crimes against runaway youths -who are victims of domestic violence- has increased.

To make matters worse, crimes targeting runaway youth are also rampant. In November 2020, 15 years old girl ‘Hee-Soo (false name) — who had left the house due to family discord — was sexually assaulted by a man contacted through social media. “At first, he approached me saying to help me, but when I met him, he put me in the car and raped me.” This brazen man later threatened to turn her to the police, exploiting her weak point as a runaway youth. Eventually, the police arrested a man in his twenties who raped eight runaway youth, including Hee-Soo.

Domestic violence is a crime that our law prohibits, as it should be eradicated, which leads to runaways, family breakdown, and the hereditary succession of violence. Eventually, the pandemic will end. But domestic violence will persist, and we will have to strive to resolve it. However, the perception that we have to turn a blind eye to our own family’s violence hinders the victims from reporting to the police and even gaslights the victims’ violence as a form of discipline. Therefore, considering such states, it will be necessary not only to prepare for COVID-19 situations against domestic violence but also to respond in future situations after the end of it.