LIFE IN LOCK DOWN - DOMESTIC ABUSE

So as the news is filled with nothing but Covid-19 information it is very easy to forget what is going on in the rest of the world. I wonder what would be in the news if we didn't have this deadly disease to keep us occupied. After all it wasn't that long along ago that all anyone could talk about was Brexit?!! And now all anyone seems to want to talk about is Covid-19. No one seems to care about anything else. Certainly nothing else seems to be getting reported.

And one of the main things that is on the increase in these times of lock down is domestic abuse. It may not be reported every day but I've just read an article(I think it popped up on my google news feed) that said that the calls to domestic abuse help lines have risen by 25% in the last few weeks. Also I have a friend who works with the police and apparently most of their work at the moment is dealing with domestic incidents.

As a single female living alone in a 2 bedroom flat with a balcony, it's easy to forget how hard life is for others. I absolutely hate not being able to see friends and family. However I am not cooped up in a 2 bedroom flat with children or even a partner. I can do what I want. Well, obviously I can't because none of us can just now. My balcony is small. There's only room for a couple of people on it but as there's only me, that's fine. Fortunately for the last few weeks the weather has been lovely so I've resigned myself to sitting out there with a magazine.

However, just imagine living in a 2 bedroom flat (without even a balcony/outdoor space) with children and an abusive partner. Being cooped up for almost 8 weeks is enough to drive anyone to breaking point. How on earth do these people cope?

Domestic abuse victims lose their own self worth and confidence in normal times because their so called loving partners gradually eat away at any source of self belief that they may have. Can you imagine what it must be like if they're now with their abusive partner 24/7?

A 25% rise in call to Domestic Abuse help lines is a massive increase. And the worrying thing is; that's probably only the tip of the ice berg. I bet there are loads of people not reporting this type of thing through fear of worrying that it is not essential in these times of Covid-19. And as the UK now reports the highest related deaths from Covid-19 in Europe, nothing seems to be reported about the number of deaths that have occurred during lock down because of domestic abuse.

It's very, very, easy in these difficult times to live in one's own little bubble. I remember a couple of weeks into lock down and 'Dr Hilary' on the 'Good Morning Britain' Show said, 'We're now at the stage where everyone will know someone who has Coronavirus or will know someone who has died from it'. I didn't. And I still don't. I've spoken to people who think they might have had it, but to be honest these particular people are hypochondriacs anyway so they might have, they might not. As we're not being tested, how on earth do we know whether a common cold is Coronavaris or not?

The point of the above paragraph is to emphasise that just because your life is progressing, albeit probably not how you would want it to be................. there are thousands, if not millions, of people in this country that are silently suffering every single day. There are people who may even be dying.

I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must be for the victims of domestic abuse. For these vile abusers to now actually have a valid reason for keeping their partners trapped indoors must be like a living hell. And the other thing.......................... because all the kids are at home now as well, they're probably being subjected to seeing things that no kids ever should.

Lock down is hard. We all have our own story to tell. Fortunately my story is not very interesting. Unfortunately I fear that a lot of victims of domestic abuse may not even live to tell their story.

See you all tomorrow.

Toodles.