COVID-19: How domestic violence has surged during lockdown

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(PHOTO: AFP)

GUEST: Gemma Sunyer, Coordinator for the Women’s Network at Fundacion Ana Bella – an international support system run by survivors of domestic abuse that’s based in Barcelona, Spain.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world have ordered citizens into lockdown within their own homes. While these measures are needed to prevent further spread of the virus, there are some for whom “sheltering in place” presents an immediate danger all its own… Those are the victims of domestic violence.

With access to shelters, social services and law enforcement severely limited during lockdown, some places have seen domestic abuse increase by as much as five times their normal rates.

It is a dire situation the U.N. has referred to as “a perfect storm for controlling, violent behavior behind closed doors.”

With us to talk about the alarming rise in domestic violence during the coronavirus lockdown – and what some are doing to aid its victims – is Gemma Sunyer. She’s Coordinator for the Women’s Network at Fundacion Ana Bella – an international support system run by survivors of domestic abuse that’s based in Barcelona, Spain.