The COVID pandemic has made things infinitely more difficult for everyone. People have lost their jobs and food insecurity is rampant. People have been trapped in their homes for months and as one might predict, this has led to conflict among roommates, spouses, and domestic partners.
People naturally become more disputatious when they are confined in small spaces together. It is harder than ever for victims of domestic abuse to find shelter due to the virus. Abused women in safe shelters are actually less likely to die than women who remain in abusive situations.
When people hear yelling or see a couple screaming at each other in the street, it is only natural for them to be concerned and think that some type of domestic violence may be taking place.
If someone calls the police on an arguing couple, one of them or both of them may end up in jail.
What Real Domestic Violence Entails
In cases of domestic violence, there is almost always a calm before the storm. Emotional abuse accompanied by threats of violence often predicates physical abuse. Cases of reported domestic violence have remained stagnant in Florida since the pandemic began.
Although official complaints may have decreased, calls to battered women shelters have increased. As people are staying inside, women have less time alone at home to call for help if they need it.
Occasionally, a woman will be in the middle of a call when she must hang up because her abuser has come home. The courts are closed these days and so it is more difficult to get an injunction filed. Women are afraid of going into a communal living situation because of Coronavirus. It is only when they fear for their lives that they will seek help.
Men May Use COVID-19 as a Defense
Recently, a man used the coronavirus as his defense in a domestic violence case. He beat his girlfriend with a belt repeatedly, because he thought it would get the demons out of her. He claimed the high fever that is part of COVID, caused him to have hallucinations.
There has been some evidence that the virus causes hallucinations. He had not been arrested previously or had any record of mental illness.
Although the man had been tested for Coronavirus he would not receive the paperwork for at least two weeks. He initially thought he did not have the disease and went about his business. He had contact with many people and traveled a few times.
It took 17 days for him to get his COVID-19 test results back. When he did not hear back from them after a week, he did things he ordinarily would not have done if he had known.
Websites that deal with the defense of domestic violence, such as thefloridatriallawyer.com, have seen an increase in traffic recently.
The Coronavirus has changed almost everyone’s life. These days seeking help may be just as dangerous as staying at home with an abuser. Until the vaccine is widely distributed, there are certain to be more deaths from both the virus and domestic battery.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
Speak Your Mind