Pandemic created domestic violence ‘perfect storm’ as U.S. saw 8% spike, UCF researcher says

A new study shows domestic violence incidents spiked more than 8% nationwide in 2020 following lockdown orders intended to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic — a trend also seen in Central Florida, according to one local leader.

The analysis from the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice is based on multiple studies from U.S. cities that used data from police calls, domestic violence hotlines and health records, said Catherine Kaukinen, professor and criminal justice department chair at the University of Central Florida, who is also one of the report’s authors.

Stay-at-home and lockdown orders related to COVID-19, unemployment, financial insecurity and the stress of child care likely exacerbated factors associated with domestic violence, Kaukinen said.

“[COVID-19] really did provide, for lack of a better word, sort of a perfect storm to bring together factors that outside of a pandemic would lead to domestic violence,” she said. “… There’s a lot of stress surrounding the pandemic, there’s a lot of fear of contracting the virus. And so I think there may also have been times in which abusers might use the pandemic to control their spouse by threatening to expose the family.”

The spike in U.S. domestic violence incidents is likely an undercount, Kaukinen said.

“We think these estimates are not the ceiling of what’s happening, but rather the floor because we know that a lot of women don’t call the police, do not call domestic service agencies,” she said. “During the pandemic, they were less apt and less able to reach out to informal sources, which are a great source of support. I would anticipate the rates of experience of domestic violence are actually much higher.”

More victims reached out to Harbor House of Central Florida for services during the pandemic last year, though it wasn’t always for shelter, said Michelle Sperzel, the organization’s CEO.

From March to December 2020, 1,189 survivors received shelter, a decrease from the same time period in 2019 when 1,578 survivors were housed, according to data provided by Harbor House.

But compared to 2019, more survivors called Harbor House seeking help with filing protective injunctions or creating safety plans, which help victims strategize how to improve safety while experiencing abuse or leaving an abusive situation. The agency helped make 7,730 safety plans in March to December 2020 compared to 4,778 in 2019, according to the data.

Harbor House’s “Early Victim Engagement” program also saw an 8% increase last year in reports with increased lethality risks, which is when abusers threaten to kill their partners or exhibit other dangerous behavior. Domestic violence survivors were forced to spend more time with their abusers as people lost their jobs and stayed home with violent partners, Sperzel said.

“That abuse can go on for days so that [survivors] can be trapped in their homes for an entire weekend being held hostage,” she said. “When that happens, the violence will begin to escalate more and more and more. We have seen that it’s the proximity that has really increased the abuse and the lethality of the abuse.”

Last spring, Bethany Backes, a researcher and assistant professor at UCF’s Violence Against Women Faculty Cluster, launched a survey of criminal justice personnel responding to domestic violence incidents during the pandemic.

Each year, between six and 14 officers nationwide are killed responding to domestic violence calls, but Backes said she noticed an increase in police killings related to these incidents during April and May 2020. Preliminary data from her research, which she plans to present this month at the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, shows officers are concerned the severity of domestic violence incidents is getting worse.

“We’re seeing some trends in terms of higher [numbers] of officers generally perceiving victims to be more at risk right now [and] officers having more concern about their own safety,” she said.

The long-term economic impacts of COVID-19 will continue to affect domestic violence survivors who are vulnerable and financially dependent on their partners, Kaukinen said.

The pandemic has spurred a “female recession,” with more women losing their jobs than men, and the female unemployment rate hitting double digits for the first time since 1948, with hospitality being one of the hardest-hit industries, according to the New York Times. Without economic means, it’s more difficult for domestic violence survivors to leave abusive households, Sperzel said.

“The No. 1 reason someone stays in a domestic violence situation is because they can’t afford to leave,” she said. “… As we are looking at the change of economics within Central Florida, if it continues to go down, then domestic violence is going to continue to go up.”

Financial abuse occurs the majority of domestic violence cases, said Deborah Vagins, president and CEO of the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

“For survivors who have left the workforce during the pandemic … the sudden lack of a consistent income, a safe work environment, and supportive colleagues can all present new elements for abusive partners to exploit and perpetuate harm and control,” Vagins said in a statement.

Black women, in particular, are experiencing much higher rates of unemployment and labor instability nationwide, Kaukinen said.

“We know that for women to be able to leave a violent relationship, they need income, they need education and they need a good job,” she said. “They need to be able to find economic ways to navigate out of a violent home.”

Reach Harbor House of Central Florida’s 24-hour crisis hotline at 407-886-2856 or email contactus@harborhousefl.com if speaking would be unsafe.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7. If you need support, call 1-800-799-7233. If you’re unable to speak safely, log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 22522.

mcordeiro@orlandosentinel.com