Lockdown meant even more domestic abuse for victims in Sheffield, says report

Lockdown allowed abusers to increase their control over their partners and children with tactics "effectively legitimised by the state", says a report.
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Domestic abuse victims have suffered even more during the pandemic because they have spent more time at home, been isolated and there has been added stress and money problems.

Sheffield Council says access to support was difficult and referrals to services dipped but as lockdown eased in June, victims began to make contact with agencies again or worried friends, family and neighbours alerted services.

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Referrals to the charity IDAS rose by 11 per cent compared to last year. Cases assessed as high risk of serious harm or homicide are up by a quarter. The service is now receiving an average of 104 referrals a week.

Sheffield town hall.Sheffield town hall.
Sheffield town hall.

Alison Hughes, of Sheffield Council, says in a report: "Lockdown had the unintentional effect of enabling perpetrators of domestic abuse to increase their control over their victims and their children, many of whom were not at school.

"Their tactics of isolation, removing independence and regulation of behaviour, usually backed up by threats and intimidation, were now effectively legitimised by the state.

"People will have felt that their routes for accessing support had been closed off – they could not contact agencies, see the professionals they may have been in touch with, family and friends were out of bounds, they may have been working from home or furloughed and the perpetrator may have been too.

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"High risk cases showed the biggest rise in June – up by over a quarter on the previous year.

"This indicates that the severity of domestic abuse has increased in lockdown and it is likely that situations have escalated more rapidly during this time as well."

Access to therapeutic and mental health support also became difficult.

The report adds: "Those traumatised during lockdown face an even longer wait than before to access therapy or counselling.

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"This is compounded by already existing issues with lack of capacity and unclear local pathways in relation to therapeutic support for survivors of abuse.

"Indications are that this upward trend, although uneven, will continue as lockdown continues to ease. We are expecting that service capacity will be under pressure for several months at least."