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The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) is calling on parishes to give support to victims of domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic.

By Lydia O’Kane

Since countries have gone into lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus, the daily reports of new cases and fatalities have continued to alarm the world.

Rise in domestic abuse during pandemic

But there are also other figures which have increased dramatically during this pandemic and are raising concern: those of domestic abuse — so much so, that the United Nations is describing this scourge as a growing "shadow pandemic".

With many countries still maintaining strict isolation measures, this has meant that people have had to remain at home with their abuser.

Since the UK-wide COVID-19 lockdown began on 23 March, there has been a 49% increase in calls and online requests for help relating to domestic abuse.

Responding to this worrying trend, the British government last month rolled out a campaign under the hashtag #YouAreNotAlone.

It aims to reassure those affected by domestic abuse that support services remain available during the pandemic.

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