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Covid inquiry: Domestic abuse victims faced a ‘double prison’ during lockdowns [1]

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Date: 2023-12

The Covid-19 inquiry was reminded of the “nightmare” that victims of domestic abuse endured during lockdown as it prepares to wrap for its Christmas break.

The human impact of the pandemic was once again placed centre stage as the inquiry’s second module, which has focussed on Whitehall decision-making in the early days of the crisis, draws to a close.

Liz Davies KC, representing Solace Women’s Aid and Southall Black Sisters, how some women had been left trapped in a “double prison of lockdown and of domestic abuse” after the first national stay-at-home orders were issued in March 2020.

Reading from the statement of a witness, she said: “I was always inside the house, he never let me go to the park for a walk.

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“He did leave the house to go for a walk, I was 24/7 inside the house, confined to my room. Even using the washroom and kitchen was a task for me.

“I took one of my kids in the kitchen so I could cook in peace, pausing because otherwise she would have been abused while cooking.

“I didn't have a choice for the whole of Covid, I was only confined to my room, I became mute. I was so depressed and I didn't feel like talking. There were constant fights because of him being around all the time, it made me so anxious I was living in a nightmare without end.”

There are few reliable figures on the scale of domestic abuse during the pandemic, but police records indicate domestic abuse-related crimes rose during the period.

Domestic violence charities also saw increased demand, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS said this may reflect “an increase in the severity of abuse being experienced, and a lack of available coping mechanisms due to government restrictions”.

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[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/covid-19-inquiry-domestic-abuse-survivor-lockdown-police-misogyny-government/

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