Support domestic violence survivors during COVID-19.

Erica Ezeifedi
Written By Nicole Cardoza

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily. Recently, the death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. passed the 300,000 mark. But there's so much death and violence happening that the data doesn't take into account. Today, Erica joins us to share more information on how we can support domestic violence survivors during COVID-19.

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Nicole

TAKE ACTION

If you are someone you know is in immediate need of support, call 1-800-799-SAFE or chat life at thehotline.org.

GET EDUCATED

By Erica Ezeifedi (she/her)

Every year, ten million people experience domestic violence (also known as intimate partner violence) in the United States. Domestic abuse (which includes physical, emotional, and economic components) is used to systematically dominate and control victims, and has long been utilized in the systematic oppression of women (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). This year has brought a rise in domestic violence worldwide as a result of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, orders that essentially trap victims with their abusers and increase opportunities for abuse to happen (The Washington Post).                                                                                                                                                                                                 

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the presence of intimate partner violence comes with “an overall cost to society,” including psychological trauma, increased risk of chronic disease, lost wages, loss of housing, physical injury and even death (SAMHSA). When race and gender intersect with domestic violence, the negative impact is exacerbated. Between 21-55% of Asian and Pacific Islander women, 41.2% of Black women, 29.7% of Latina women, and 51% of Indigenous women report experiencing intimate partner violence at some point in their lifetime (Women of Color Network). Black women experience intimate partner violence 35% more than white women, and at 2.5x the rate of other women of color. 

Women of color face unique dynamics of intimate partner violence that serve as barriers to escaping (Color Lines). Within the Black community, women can risk re-victimization when seeking resources to escape. This could come in the form of being arrested in instances of self-defense, or even being harassed or assaulted by police officers. Unsurprisingly, national reports of police brutality also create a strong sense of distrust of the police among Black victims, decreasing the chances that they will seek legal action against their abusers (Women of Color Network). Black women may also feel obligated to endure abuse to protect the Black men abusing them (Essence).

Although Asian and Pacific Islander and Latina people have very distinct cultures, some of their abuse victims face similar complications. The jobs often available to abuse victims from these communities are low-waged and rife with sexual harassment and racial discrimination (Women of Color Network). Additionally, abusers in these communities may hang the threat of deportation over the heads of undocumented victims. Others may lack access to information due to language barriers.

Now, Native women suffer the second highest rates of intimate partner violence. “The staggering statistics of intergenerational trauma, abuse of both Native women and children by Native men can be traced directly to intergenerational trauma, genocide, and to the introduction of alcohol, Christianity, and the European hierarchical family structure,” Women of Color Network explains. Generations of mistrust nurtured by maltreatment by white people can also make victims fear seeking help outside of their community.

These issues have been exacerbated during the pandemic. A senior director at a major hospital in Massachusetts cited a radiology study as having confirmed “what we suspected. Being confined to home for a period of time would increase the possibility for violence between intimate partners” (WebMD).  In April, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres added "We know lockdowns and quarantines are essential to suppressing COVID-19, but they can trap women with abusive partners. Over the past weeks, as the economic and social pressures and fear have grown, we have seen a horrifying surge in domestic violence.” He went on to suggest that governments around the world should “make the prevention and redress of violence against women a key part of their national response plan to COVID-19” (NPR). 

Many of the ways in which the novel coronavirus has negatively impacted women of color are the same factors that make them more susceptible to being abused in the first place. Economic dependency, for instance, is one of the first things that must be established for many people in order to leave an abusive relationship. Many victims stay with their abusers because they provide economic support. The pandemic has worsened the chances for victims to leave as it has increased unemployment, especially for women of color (Economic Policy Institute). 

Social isolation— a factor that increases the likelihood of domestic violence— has been one of the consequences of worldwide stay-at-home orders. This has effectively cut victims off from support systems that might have provided relief or helped them to escape an abusive partner  (See “Considerations of the impacts of COVID-19 on domestic violence”). Additionally, the shelters that would normally house abuse victims have had to reduce capacity in accordance with COVID-19 preventative measures, leaving many abuse victims without housing separate from their abusers (The New England Journal of Medicine). Meanwhile, the widespread uncertainty from the pandemic can trigger abusers’ fundamental insecurities, resulting in an amplification of violence (WebMD). 

Trans people worldwide have also experienced an increase in domestic abuse for many of the same reasons. According to Transrepect, “trans women of color, sex workers, migrants, youth, and poor” have been made more vulnerable to abuse by partners as a result of the pandemic. Since October 2019, there has been a 6% increase in reported murders of trans people worldwide, 98% of which were trans women or feminine-presenting trans people (Transrespect). 

We must strive to find ways to adapt COVID-19 safety measures to support women of color and trans people at risk for domestic violence. It is vital to remember that these vulnerable groups are battling two pandemics at once, both of which are attacking their bodies, minds, and spirits.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • There are 10 million people a year who experience intimate partner violence, many of whom are women of color.

  • 21-55% of Asian and Pacific Islander women, 41.2% of Black women, 29.7% of Latina women, and 51% of Indigenous women all experience intimate partner violence at some point in their lifetime.

  • Women of color who are victims of intimate partner violence are facing two pandemics at once. COVID-19 has increased economic dependency and isolation, while decreasing domestic violence shelter capacity, all of which make it harder to escape abusive relationships.

  • The pandemic has also made trans people more vulnerable to such violence. The reported murder of trans people has increased 6% worldwide since October 2019 (Transrespect)

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Nicole Cardoza
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