DVAM 2021, Part 1: #WeAreResilient

This year on October 1, 2021, we will be marking the 32nd annual Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). Originally evolving from Day of Unity created in 1981 by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the intent was to connect advocates across the nation who were working to end violence against women and their children. Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2021 also comes at a time where it is reported that domestic violence has increased by 10%-22% across the United States, and in the past 10 months alone, five local Santa Cruz County women have been killed by their partners.

By now we have seen, heard, felt, and read how the COVID-19 pandemic and the shelter-in-place lockdowns caused the rates of domestic violence to skyrocket in short periods of time. This truly highlights how abuse dynamics and tactics can thrive in isolation and when there is a lack of available community and public resources. Stories from survivors were read and heard about how they were uniquely and impacted greatly, that they had been planning to leave their abusive relationships or had left but ultimately had no choice but to go back to unsafe dwellings due to travelling restrictions, that job offers were reversed and local shelters have been unable to take in new people and families.

The Nation Domestic Violence Hotline has said that from March 16th-May 16,  2020, its advocates saw an overall 9% increase in calls, chat, or text. Of the people who reached out, 6,210 of them cited COVID-related restrictions and stay-at-home orders as a factor for reaching out for help; 90% stated they were experiencing verbal and emotional abuse, 61% stated they were experiencing physical abuse, and 24% were experiencing and dealing with financial and economic abuse. The special report noted that “a caller said they could not file paperwork to remove the abuser from their home, because courts are closed due to COVID-19.” Another caller “was experiencing an escalation of abuse. They had tested positive for COVID-19, and the abuser was using isolation to keep them from contacting family. The abuser threatened the survivor with deportation (survivor is currently in the process of becoming a US citizen.” Another caller who reached out via chat stated that “they have known for a long time that there were red flags in the relationship, but things are escalating with the pandemic, and they can’t even go to therapy.”

Walnut Avenue Family & Women's Center saw a 15% increase in hotline crisis calls received but a decrease in in-person services due the pandemic. Compared to annual data from 2019, 22% of callers in 2020 were seeking some form of shelter, 19% were seeking protection orders and/or legal information, and 17% needed safety-planning support. These trends were also seen by other local domestic violence resources, due largely in part to survivors being trapped in a living space with the person causing them harm at a time when staying home is strongly encouraged or sometimes legally mandated to slow the spread of a deadly pandemic. The loss of income, decreased wages, and cut work hours also contributed to survivors becoming more financially dependent on the person causing them harm.

During the same time period, Walnut Avenue’s crisis line also saw an increase in calls from allies such as family members, medical professionals and staff, community and social workers, concerned citizens, neighbors, school staff and officials, and law enforcement. They were calling to ask how they help someone experiencing  domestic violence during the time of a pandemic, what to say, and asking what help is out there. Loved ones, emergency responders, and healthcare professionals are commonly the first people that find out that abuse is happening, and so as the rate and severity of domestic violence increases, so does the number of people finding themselves in a position to support survivors.

For more information on actions you can take in your personal, academic, or work life to become a more effective support person or be more involved in the fight for gender justice, check out part two of our DVAM blog posts on ways that folks can incorporate efforts towards gender justice into their current routines.

The theme for Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2021 is resiliency: to highlight and uplift victims and survivor voices and their stories. After almost two years of being dark and silenced under the added weight of a global pandemic, this couldn't come at a more fitting, needed, and influential time. As the community is still mourning the loss of recent femicide victims, most recently in July 2021, now is the time to listen to stories and how the past few years have impacted and continue to impact  survivors close to home and around the country.

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Are you or someone you know experiencing fear in your relationship with a partner or relative? Contact our 24-hour domestic violence hotline anytime at 1 (866) 2MY-ALLY to speak confidentially with an advocate.