The social stresses of COVID have been proposed in a number of countries as the reason for recent increases in domestic abuse. Whatever the reasons for the increase, the consequences for abuse sufferers are dire: either remain at home and continue to be beaten or . . . homelessness.
In the United Kingdom, as in many other countries, the COVID threat to personal shelter has been usually painted in terms of an individual or family financial crisis, not homelessness as a consequence of domestic abuse. But reports from the UK suggest that as many as one in six newly homeless households have fled their homes to escape violence.
This voluntary abandonment of shelter undoubtedly takes tremendous courage in the absence of societal support. It paints a chilling picture of the numbers who cannot face such a drastic consequence, either for themselves or their children and remain at home.
What needs be done about the often well-hidden horror of domestic abuse? Read more in The Guardian: Record number of domestic abuse victims made homeless
