The other pandemic: family violence during the Covid-19

Xiadani Flores / Peninsula 360 Press

During the quarantine, calls to family violence helplines have increased worldwide. Domestic violence is another problem women have faced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

While, for some people, quarantine has been synonymous with boredom, time to experience new things, or simply time for "introspection", the calls for help made by women around the world have shown us that these experiences are also a privilege.
The phrase "Quédate en casa" ("Stay home", in Spanish), for some women, represents the risk of losing their lives; rather, the danger is embodied in their partners, fathers, brothers, uncles, etc.

For example, on May 27, following a call for help, authorities arrested Anthony Gonzalez in San Mateo County.

According to CBS San Francisco Bay Area, the victim was allegedly knocked unconscious by a punch to the face from Gonzalez, stemming from a child custody dispute. The victim was taken to a hospital for medical attention.

The United Nations (UN) says that since the beginning of the pandemic and, compared with data from the previous year, until April 5, doubled the number of calls for help in Lebanon and Malaysia. In China, it tripled; and in Australia, Internet searches for help for domestic violence have increased in the last five years.

The Covid-19 figures have shown us that there is another type of pandemic in which people who are not cisgender men are in the population at risk.

Gender violence has existed since before the contingency, but it is now that we see that, in the face of an extraordinary situation such as a pandemic, the problem is exacerbated. The figures collected during the first months of quarantine show that not all women feel safe and free in their homes.

According to World Bank data, in Latin America, since the quarantine was imposed in Colombia, calls to the hotlines for victims of domestic violence increased by 91 %, while in Mexico they increased by 36 %. According to the NGO Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy (Redlad): "In Ecuador, from March to June, ECU?911 received an average of 278 calls per day.

In the state of California, the data is not encouraging. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline increased by about 17 % from March to May; however, as of April, in San Mateo, the county court stated that although there was a slight uptick in domestic violence restraining orders in March 2020 - compared to March 2019 - there was no significant increase, justifying this violence with alcohol abuse.

Domestic violence is experienced daily in many homes and yet not all women report it, either for fear of being discovered by their aggressor, for fear of being left without shelter and alone, or for lack of knowledge and facilitation of help.

It is important to mention that, in case you are in a situation of violence, remember that you are not alone: there are associations all over the world that are ready to provide support in situations like these.

San Mateo is home to Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (CORA) which provides help 24 hours a day. Their number is 1-800-300-1080. You can also call 911 for police support and advocacy or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (for Spanish press 2) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY for hearing impaired).