Domestic Violence Calls Expected to Climb After Shelter-In-Place

Data released from the San Francisco Police Department shows a 31 percent decrease in reported domestic violence incidents during the city’s shelter-in-place order, despite a climb in calls to crisis hotlines.

During the last 15 days in March, 121 incidents involving domestic violence were reported in San Francisco, according to the SFPD Crime Analysis Unit. In the same time period, W.O.M.A.N. Inc., a San Francisco-based domestic violence service agency, observed a 130 percent spike in calls to its crisis support line.

Though domestic violence cases appeared to be on a “downward trend” since 2019, the SFPD analysis acknowledged the “significant decline” in the number of incidents reported since the citywide shelter-in-place order was issued.

“For a variety of reasons, COVID-19 raises threats of domestic violence, while simultaneously erecting greater barriers for victims to reach out for help,” said Dr. Gena Castro Rodriguez, chief of Victims Services at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, in an April press release.

Mandated stay-at-home orders have increased exposure to abusers, said advocates, while limiting access to shelter services, financial assistance and support systems.

“What the pandemic has done is created this enabling environment that has a lot of triggers for conflict,” said Tracy Shoberg, deputy director of the SAFeR Project at the Battered Women’s Justice Project, over the phone.

Increased levels of stress and anxiety combined with poor coping mechanisms create the perfect storm for domestic abuse, advocates said.

“People are stressed out about their health and well-being, the safety of their family and friends and the unknown,” Shoberg said. “There’s increased financial stress, and there is a scarcity of community resources.”

As people continue to stay home due to COVID-19, calls to domestic violence hotlines are becoming “more complex,” a press release from the office of Mayor London Breed said.

“During the month of March, survivors were in close proximity to their abusers, and therefore it may have been less safe to reach out to The Hotline for support,” said Sarah Clements, associate at the West End Strategy Team, which represents the National Domestic Violence Hotline, in an email interview.

Emergency response data shows that 911 calls fell 24 percent during the first three weeks of the San Francisco shelter-in-place order. Meanwhile, the number of domestic violence calls remained constant.

“We know that rates and reports of domestic violence are up, but we’ve also seen things like petitions to get civil protection orders are down,” Shoberg said.

Court and jail closures due to COVID-19 have limited traditional protections for survivors of domestic violence and inhibited their ability to safely reach out for help, advocates said.

“At least for misdemeanors, domestic violence in a sense is getting arrested, and you’re not getting booked,” Shoberg said. “They have nowhere else to go but to go back home which is a very dangerous situation.”

Police Sgt. Analia Bosnich said “a crime has to be committed” in order to file a domestic violence report.

“We’re required to file a report if there’s physical, visible injury or if credible threats were made,” Bosnich said. “Lots of times we show up, and it’s just an argument that we’re able to diffuse.”

As San Francisco continues to reopen, the number of survivors reaching out for help is expected to rise, domestic violence advocates said.

In the month of April, as stay-at-home orders began to scale back, the National Domestic Violence Hotline saw “a small increase in contact volume,” Clements said. The incoming contact volume was also 15 percent higher than April of 2019.

“From March 16 to May 25, 6,772 survivors–roughly 10 percent of our total contacts–reaching out to The Hotline cited COVID-19 as a condition of their experience,” Clements said.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline “anticipates a more significant spike” in calls for support as shelter-in-place orders lift throughout the country, Clements said.

“Many support providers in the field, including the hotline, expect to see an unprecedented number of survivors reporting abuse and seeking support in the coming months,” Clements said.