Domestic abuse experts are calling on the government to provide emergency funds as refuges prepare for an influx of referrals amid fears the Covid-19 outbreak will fuel violence in the home.
At least 15 violence against women and girls organisations, including Women’s Aid, have signed a letter to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) calling for action over one of the unintended consequences of the coronavirus lockdown.
In a separate intervention, the domestic abuse commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, has said the government must provide support to the charities that provide lifeline services for victims of violence in the home throughout the crisis as they face major financial strain.
The letter, composed by the Public Interest Law Centre and Solace Women’s Aid, and which has also been signed by more than 30 civil society organisations and lawyers including the Refugee Council and Doughty Street Chambers, warned that the lockdown will cause rates of violence and abuse in the home to increase.
Isabella Mulholland, a domestic violence caseworker at the Public Interest Law Centre, said: “We are concerned about the disproportionate impact that lockdown measures are having on survivors of domestic violence. It is unacceptable for the government to simply point to a general fund which has been allocated to all those in need. Instead, it must secure specific funding for survivors to ensure they are able to access specialist services and safe and suitable accommodation.
“The reality is that local authorities are unable – and in many cases unwilling – to support and protect women effectively unless the government provides adequate resources, guidance and training. Unless and until this happens, survivors will continue to suffer.”
The letter demands a separate emergency fund for local authorities to ensure they are able to adequately house survivors of domestic abuse in appropriate locations.
Speaking to the Guardian, Nicole Jacobs, who was appointed domestic abuse commissioner in September, said early indicators showed an increase in demand for services run by charities for victims of domestic abuse.
The national domestic abuse helpline, run by the charity Refuge, reported a 65% increase in calls to the helpline on Saturday compared with the same day the previous week, and traffic to its website and use of web chat facilities have increased. Smaller helplines focused on family courts and male victims of violence have also reported increased calls.
Jacobs said smaller charities will come under significant pressure during the crisis and called for government assistance to keep the vital services afloat.
She said: “There is a postcode lottery of the provision of these services. This is layering more stress on a rocky foundation.
“These are great services but they are going to struggle financially if there is no overarching strategy from government targeted to domestic abuse and sexual violence services that are going to struggle to make ends meet, and will be dipping into reserves to get through the period.”
Karen Ingala Smith, the founder of a pioneering project that records the killing of women by men in the UK, said she had noted an increase in deaths in the past two weeks.
Ingala Smith, chief executive of domestic abuse charity Nia and founder of the Counting Dead Women project, said initial analysis of her data suggested there had been “a higher rate of killings in the last few weeks”.
Her figures showed at least eight women have been killed by men in the past two weeks, with a further four suspected cases. This is compared with 99 women who were killed by partners in the year to March 2019, which equates to nearly two a week.
“Women are isolated, trapped with abusive men, so they’re exposed. Women have less access to support, not just community support, but services like ours; women will not be able to have face to face meetings,” she said.
Official UK government advice for victims of domestic abuse during the public health crisis says it is in regular contact with the charity sector and the police to ensure that support services remain open during the outbreak.
An MHCLG spokesperson said: “Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime and its victims must always be fully supported. We will do everything we can to help domestic abuse support services keep vital provision fully functioning during the Covid-19 emergency.”
“We are working closely with charities, organisations and councils involved in providing these services and the domestic abuse commissioner to ensure those fleeing abuse have a safe place to go to.”
The Scottish government announced extra funding of £1.35m to Scottish Women’s Aid, to ensure the maintenance of key support services and alternative access via online video platforms and text messaging, as ministers insisted that the message to stay at home should not deter women from seeking urgent help.
At her daily briefing on Tuesday, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said: “There is a real risk that women and children already subject to domestic abuse will feel even more isolated and vulnerable during this crisis, so this funding will ensure they have access to support services.”
Police Scotland said that it would be actively working to identify those most at risk but that it was too early to assess the impact of coronavirus on incidents of domestic abuse across the country.