Domestic abuse has been referred to as the ‘shadow pandemic’, with support services recording a rise in demand over lockdown as families were trapped in the same space as their abuser for months on end.
Refuge’s telephone helpline, which ordinarily logs around 270 calls every day, saw an increase of 77 per cent during June, while the first week in July brought a 54 per cent rise in women needing refuge space when compared with the last week in June.
The same was true for local services. Rachael Hudson, founder and chief executive of Child’s Vision, a Kent-based charity set up to help and support children who have witnessed or have been affected by domestic abuse, says referrals went up by 33 per cent over lockdown compared to the same time last year: ‘One school came to us and said “we need to run your support programmes” because these children have been through hell during lockdown.’
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