Pandemic, Women, Children, Shelter, and Safety: A Worldwide Perspective

Article by Meredith Strong

Home is supposed to be where the heart is, but unfortunately, there are as many broken hearts as there are broken homes. That’s true when people are healthy, but when a pandemic requires women and children to shelter at home, the meaning of that activity is not consistent. When families are in strife and crisis, women and children all over the world seek shelter away from their homes.

Women all over the world navigate the terms of safe shelter in the middle of a pandemic in different ways. Most use helplines, but during the chaos of a worldwide health crisis, assistance is more difficult, and creative solutions must be found.

For example, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, there is an annual protest organized against domestic violence and femicide, and thousands of women wear purple shoes in solidarity. During quarantine, they’ve found creative ways to keep using their voices by taking the protest to a live stream on the internet.

In St. Petersburg, Russia, hotel owners who lost revenue due to lack of tourism, opened their doors to survivors of domestic violence. This was a creative way to solve both problems while shelters closed due to the spread of COVID-19. Domestic abuse cases rose in many places across the world, but in Pakistan, inequities that existed before the pandemic expanded. While helplines are available to women by phone or text, the problem is lack of response due to an overwhelming number of callers. Shelter space was already limited, and there seemed to be no place where a safe living environment could be found. Women and children have been left to suffer abuse and the lack of any viable solutions.

In contrast, across Canada, a supportive government and a well-run media presence has kept domestic violence shelters and helplines supported through a donation of $40 million to Women and Gender Equality Canada. Those financial resources are earmarked to support 500 shelters throughout the country during the pandemic.

Women in Asian countries (including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and South Korea) suffer weaknesses in the systems of justice and law enforcement. In these cultures, women who need assistance to get away from domestic abuse can be silenced both by family pressure to keep secrets and the need for social distance. Twitter has come to their aid with the development of an app on mobile.twitter.com for Android and iOS, #ThereIsHelp (in English and Hindi). Women in these areas will have greater accessibility to solutions they need to stay safe and keep healthy.

In the United States, advocates urge survivors to continue to reach out for help, emphasizing they haven’t gone away. Shelters remain open. Dominique Scott of the YWCA Seattle Emergency Shelter told DomesticShelters.org in March, “Nothing has changed for us. We’re still here. We’re still working. We’re still screening.”

Survivors trapped with an abusive partner at home, monitoring their every move, making that call to an emergency helpline can be challenging. For survivors who utilize video conference call platforms, like Zoom, a covert hand signal could be the one thing that saves their life. Called #signalforhelp, it’s a one-handed gesture that involves facing your palm toward the camera, tucking your thumb into your palm and folding your four fingers over the top of your thumb. Advocates hope by promoting this signal, survivors can indicate a need for immediate help to friends, family or coworkers when they’re unable to speak the words out loud.

Amanda Kippert, editorial director with DomesticShelters.org, says “Shelters nationwide have seen a drastic uptick in the number of requests for help from survivors. Tensions in homes where an abuser is present have increased due to the pandemic and financial strain from employment instability. Everyone, including children, who are home at all times find it stressful. Stress fuels the fire when abuse is already present.”

Many advocates for survivors fear there will be continued surges of violence for the remainder of 2020, Kippert says. It’s important that survivors trapped with abusers develop a safety plan or consider escaping if and when it’s safe to do so. She believes “only a survivor knows when it’s safe to leave, so while it may seem like a decision that can be made instantly, often, there are factors that make it far more complicated than that.”

To find a helpline or shelter in the U.S., people enduring domestic violence should visit DomesticShelters.org and enter their ZIP Code at the top of the page. They can also call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.

Domestic violence is a fact of life—wherever humans reside on Earth. May everyone’s awareness of the ruin it brings cause it to end. All people deserve peace, health, and healing in 2020 and beyond.

A survivor of domestic violence, Meredith Strong overcame the emotional trauma and wrote Three Hours Forever (WestBow Press, 2017) to share her story and provide comfort, guidance, and strength to other survivors.