Women facing a spike in domestic violence in Canada amid the coronavirus pandemic need more support from the government and provincial authorities, shelter homes and experts say.

A new national report published by Women’s Shelters Canada (WSC) on Wednesday to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, found an increase in the frequency and severity of violence against women since March, when public health lockdown measures were imposed in different provinces.

“COVID and the associated social isolation is kind of a perfect storm for domestic violence,” Katreena Scott, incoming director of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children at Western University, told Global News.

The higher burden of responsibilities at home, stress of the pandemic, a breakdown of the response systems in terms of courts and the police, as well as reduced informal support has exacerbated the problem for many women, she added.

Danya O’Malley, the executive director of Prince Edward Island Family Violence Prevention Services — one of the 266 shelter homes that took part in the national survey — said they noticed a decrease in the demand for support calls to their crisis line.

“I believe the big reason for that was that people just weren’t at liberty to call,” she told Global News.

Provincial stay-at-home measures, school closures and restriction-related job losses meant women were often in close proximity to their abusers all hours of the day, leaving them little chance to reach out for help.

“Either they’re living with their abusive partner or they’re now home with their children all the time, and so there were fewer people reaching out for support.”

 

Domestic violence spikes again during second wave of pandemic – Nov 12, 2020

Globally, there has been an uptick in domestic violence during the pandemic. And women have been disproportionately hit – both socially and economically.