Figures have shown that calls to the national domestic abuse hotline increased by more than five percent during the coronavirus epidemic.
According to statistics released today by the Office for National Statistics, there were 49.756 calls to Refuge’s helpline in England during the year to March 2021. This is 22 percent more than the previous year.
It said that the rise in call volume was driven mainly by peak calls during national lockdowns.
The report also noted that the increase in victim numbers does not always indicate an increase. This could be a sign that victims are hearing more often due to increased severity of abuse, or the absence of coping methods during restricted periods.
18.3% of all criminal acts recorded by police during the year ended March 2021 were related to domestic abuse. It was three percent more than the year before.
This revealed that the proportion of domestic abuse related crimes in England or Wales recorded by police for 2020 was lower than the respective months in 2019 and 2018.
Mankind supports domestic abuse victim men by providing support. It said that the average monthly calling rate for its helpline was 23 percent higher than the previous year.
It has received 1,759 phone calls from victims and 529 callers on behalf of them – an increase from the 1,355 & 500 calls in each of the last 12 months.
95.6% of the calls where the perpetrator’s relationship was documented concerned an ex-partner or female partner.
Also, the website saw an increase of 61% in visits per month compared with the prior 12 months.
These figures were made available by the ONS after analysis of various data sources including the Crown Prosecution Service and Ministry of Justice, as well as support organizations.
The Suzy Lamplugh trust figures show that its national stalking assistance line for England and Wales was contacted by 871 people in the 12 months to April 2021. This is an increase of 14.9 percent over the previous year.
The majority of calls came in from women at 72.7 percent, with more than three quarters coming from male victims.
Social media usage was 47%, text messaging 43.1 percent and telephone calls 42.8 percent of the most frequent stalking behavior.
According to Women’s Aid, high demand meant that 63 per cent of referrals of women to refuges in England and 34 per cent of referrals of women to refuges in Wales were declined in the year to March 2020.
In England, the main cause was lack of capacity. However in Wales it was because refuges were unable to provide survivors with support.
In the 12 months to March 2020, there were 28657 women referred to refuges in England. Of these 18,025 were rejected.
Of 192,289 referrals to community-based services, 44.9 per cent were declined.
Although the Council of Europe has recommended that England have 4,277 refuge beds by 2021, it is still below the maximum.
Only London and West Midlands, the only two areas that have exceeded this limit are:
Meanwhile, the number of police recorded domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales rose 6 per cent in the year ending March 2021 to 845,734, ONS revealed.
And, for the third successive year, the CPS charging rate for domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales decreased to 70 per cent in the year ending March 2021, down from 76 per cent in the year ending March 2018.
Priti Patel has proposed new measures to allow domestic abuse victims more time to report to the police. This was announced in October.
Common assault cases are limited to six months. This means that a prosecution must be filed within the time period from the date the offense occurred.
However, Priti Patel, Home Secretary, is believed to have extended the deadline to allow for campaigners to make legal reforms.
These changes will be made to the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill.
Most common assault cases are handled in Magistrates’ Courts. It can involve violence, threatening behavior or fear that someone will attack them.
You might be pushed, spat at or even slapped.
Campaigners argue that police officers should have more time in bringing charges because domestic abuse cases can often be complicated and victims may be reluctant to speak out.