Longford Women's Link report 1,788 interactions with 153 victims of domestic violence during Covid-19

The effects of Covid-19 have been plentiful, particularly for those who have had to isolate and give up the little things we all take for granted, like going to the shops or out for a coffee. But for victims of domestic violence, those little things are often the big things that give them an escape from an abusive situation.

An analysis carried out by Longford Women’s Link (LWL) of the 14 weeks of Covid-19 lockdown, compared with the same 14-week period in 2019, showed that reported cases of domestic violence have increased - and dramatically.

This year, since the country went into lockdown, LWL has worked with a total of 153 people, in comparison to 112 people in the same period last year.

Those 153 people were in addition to the once-off helpline, which offers support and advice to anyone who might be aware of a situation and need advice on how to help a victim.

“These are people we worked with directly,” Angela Keaveney, Domestic Violence Services Coordinator at Longford Women’s Link explained.

“It’s quite intense work. We’ve had 1,788 interactions with those 153 people, compared to 1,101 interactions in the same period last year.

“Not only have the numbers increased but so has the level of support that the team has had to provide. A big part of the work during Covid-19 has been court accompaniment,” Angela added.

“In 2019, we went to court 32 times in those 14 weeks. That went up to 55 times this year. That displays to us that the level of violence has increased dramatically during lockdown, resulting in victims seeking additional protection.”

But why has the level of violence increased? A study conducted in the UK in 2019 indicated there was something different in the dynamic of domestic violence in rural settings.

The culture in rural communities is different, as the victim is far more isolated, and the abuser can use that to their advantage. Add to that the extra isolation of a Covid-19 lockdown and it’s a recipe for disaster.

“One of the strategic elements of an abuser is he - I refer to the abuser as a man, because we work with women, but women can be equally abusive - will understand that he can isolate her from whoever has her back,” said Angela.

“And if that’s cut, he’s able to be more powerful and reduce the capacity to do what you or I would take for granted, like going to Dunnes for the shopping - all these aspects that make the difference between a dignified living and an undignified one.

“It’s coercive control and that’s where the problem is. She doesn’t have a say on where her own wages go or anything in her life and she becomes confused and ends up asking ‘how did I get here?’.

“The key findings of that report are that the abusers would have taken the victims out of their communities. We were delighted when we saw this report because it reflected what victims here are going through. We often wondered if it was an Irish thing but as cultures go, we’re not very different to the UK.”

That rural isolation has increased significantly thanks to Covid-19. Suddenly, victims could no longer tip out to the shops.

Abusers were working from home, or temporarily laid off from work as businesses across the country shut down. People were cooped up at home together and things got difficult.

“Most victims of domestic violence will manage it in some way. If they have children, they don’t want it exposed or they don’t want their personal situation made public, which they often feel would mean members of the community looking at them differently,” Angela explained.

“The last thing they want is a failed marriage or a failed relationship. So they’ll keep quiet and play it down. But there comes a time when that victim will have enough. Something will happen and they’ll say ‘that’s it, I’m out of here’.

“Statistics prove that this is the most dangerous time for the victim and her children, as after she leaves the abuse often gets worse.”

A victim, in the back of their mind, will always have a get-out plan and perhaps that’s the coping mechanism for them. They can put up with this abuse because this option is here or that option is there. There’s a way out.

“But the problem during Covid-19 was that they weren’t able to get out doing the things that we would take for granted. They couldn’t get out to Dunnes or Lidl to get the shopping. They couldn’t go out to their mother or their sister. All of that was shut down. The shops were shut down. The roads were shut down. They couldn’t visit anyone,” said Angela.

“As a result of that, victims ended up having to use resources they’ve never used before. Where victims may have been reluctant to contact the gardaí prior to lockdown, it was the only option for them to secure their safety and the safety of their children during lockdown.

“Before this, they could get some respite from the abuse by getting out of the house or when the abuser was at work. During lockdown they were stuck together 24/7.”

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The aim of Longford Women’s Link is to help the victim by working together on strategies to remain safe in their own environment, because it’s not always possible or best for them to leave their environment.

“Hence the increase in the number of victims asking for protection orders and seeking the support of the gardaí because they had no other choice, during Covid-19,” said Angela.

“The last thing any victim wants to do is have a guard around their home in rural Ireland - especially if they have kids in the house.”

The biggest challenge during Covid-19 was the fact that victims were isolated from their communities and their usual respite or escape route away from the violence was closed.

Family members of the victims - or even family members of the abuser, who can see what’s going on - were inaccessible.

“Some of the women wouldn’t have realised they were getting so much support from the community until there were restrictions put on their movement,” Angela explained.

“So it’s important to keep that contact going with the victim. Don’t allow a break in communication. Keep the contact there because it becomes so clear that when the victim didn’t have that, it was far more distressing.

“And it’s far more dangerous, because the abuser thinks when there’s nobody watching, they can do what they like.”

When it comes down to it, it’s the strength of the women who deal with this kind of treatment on a daily basis that really stands out to Angela and her team at Longford Women’s Link.

While it often takes hitting rock bottom for a woman to snap and take that very difficult step of seeking help, it takes a lot of strength to stand up and ask for support.

“The women we deal with are absolutely amazing. Imagine, that person can live through all of that and still have a smile on their face. They’re so resilient,” said Angela.

“We have a war going on around us, but we’re not talking about it. And how do you talk about it?

“These women are heroes who are still raising children, still coming to work. They’re still so loving and still so compassionate despite what they’re going through.”

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