The Lost Pandemic: Attacks against Women during Covid-19
Blessing Scott
The ramifications of Domestic Violence
The tragedy of quarantine has sent communities into disarray while women are having no place of safety in these dangerous scenarios. This and the combined induced stress placed in the household from this new way of life, and all together Domestic Violence becomes a dominant issue around life. This causes new spikes of domestic abuse around the country and with everything shut down there is little to no help for the victims.
Ms. Indonesia who is a spokesperson for women and volunteers at Project:HOME explains and shares her thoughts on the recent cases of domestic violence in her city and why it's so difficult to find resolve in these times. The COVID 19 pandemic caused by loss of income and insolvency of housing and food exacerbated the often silent epidemic of violence by intimate partners.
“The Pandemic caused people to lose jobs," Indonesia said. "Covid children are experiencing more of their days at home, and worrying about the constant next step for your household could trigger these patterns in domestic violence .”
When the question of just sending the abusers to jail arised, Ms Indonesia felt as if jails don’t find an ultimate solution to the abusers and instead just place them with more issues overtime.
“That’s a difficult question," Indonesia said. Putting people in jail is an easy way to halt these type of situations but then again jails constantly lack the resources for these abusers. Mediation can be used in a court sense to come with one with their abusers and find a resolution in the situation at hand.
Ms. Lakeisha another volunteer at Project:HOME talks about certain questions the victim normally faces in these situations and why they can never just leave the situation
"Sometimes it makes sense when you hear someone has been experiencing like how he grew up and how they will be susceptible to being with a man and or abusive woman," Lakeisha said. "I really think it's all about what their experience is whether it's in a school, community, household it eventually leads to them looking for something and or accepting something cause they've could've seen past generations deal with the same trauma and this is how they think women are supposed to be treated."
Ms. Lakeisha shares the worries of these situations and why it's always good to look out for these warnings before push comes to serve first to guide these women into safe spaces
“Red flags from the experience of these women is someone who is too controlling and constantly wants to know where u are in every walk of th way. Able to start with verbal abuse onto an person then later on spike into physical, a abuser who wants to isolate and keep you away from the support system within your life.”
The current situation of Philadelphia and domestic violence is predominated in the younger generations as well. Gilbert Newton has recently been convicted of 3rd-degree murder of his ex-girlfriend in the Philadelphia area. The murder believes she didn’t care about him enough and thought threatening her was a way of showing this care.
Women and men can be in situations where they feel this is the only way to be treated by their partner and being abused is their way of being loved. "Threats are a huge red flag with people, what is their interaction with women in their household like sister, mother and women friends.”
Both volunteers share how women should never feel signs of fear in any situation. They are compassionate towards these victims cause we can never fully understand their place in life.
“Most of the time the victim is financially dependent on the abuser or having children with the abuser so not wanting to leave the household makes sense in a way. Lastly, someone who hurts you once and tells you they won't ever do it again can be a huge warning sign.”